Quotes from Nikos Kazantzakis

I'm going to make a jug, I'm going to make a plate, I'm going to make a lamp and the devil knows what more! That's what you might call being a man: freedom! "Well?" I asked. "What about your finger?" Oh, it got in my way in the wheel. It always got plumb in the middle of things and upset my plans. So one day I seized a hatchet…

Eu, baiete, vad civilizatiile cum vede un poet norii de pe cer, care urca, cresc, se umfla de ploaie, de furtuni si de fulgere; apoi sufla un vanticel, norii isi schimba forma, se fugaresc, se disloca, luand foc la apusul soarelui, risipindu-se la suflarea vantului. Ai putea sa privesti astfel civilizatiile, oamenii, zeii? E foarte greu, dar incearca baiete, curaj!

you, pious milktoast: you don't murder, steal or commit adultery—because you are afraid. All your virtues are daughters of fear.

Could it be that the higher one's master stands, the rope tying one to slavery is lengthened by the same amount? In that case, if we jump and frolic in a much wider domain, we die without ever discovering its boundaries.

Si armatele marsaluiau, impinse de noul elan, se revarsau tot mai departe, spre sud; iar Libertatea, o fantasma scaldata in sange, marsaluia in frunte, antrenand dupa ea nemuritorul sau alai - Foamea, Robia, Focul, Macelul. Cine sunt nou-venitii a caror duhoare o aduce vantul de nord?, se intrebau seniorii, aratandu-si scufiile de catifea la ferestrele cu grilaje aurite. Drept raspuns, cerul trimitea asupra lor o ploaie de limbi de foc.

Dünyaya özgürlüÄŸün gelmesi için bu kadar cinayetler ve alçakl?klar m? gerekli yani? Çünkü, oturup sana iÅŸlediÄŸimiz cinayetlerde yapt???m?z alçakl?klar? saysam tüylerin ürperir. Fakat sonuç ne oldu? Özgürlük! Tanr? y?ld?r?m?n? at?p bizi yakaca??na özgürlüÄŸü veriyor? Hiçbir ÅŸey anlayam?yorum!..

The greatest prophet on earth can give men no more than a watchword, and the vaguer the watchword the greater the prophet.

Bazen içimden küçük bir ân? al?p kar??l???nda bütün hayat?m? veresim gelir.

As if Christ were a medicine to be taken only when gravely ill, and of no use so long as you can have a good time, eat, drink and make love.

I am always disgusted by the world. The more that time passes the more I become increasingly broody and tight-lipped. I have so many things in mind and so much that I plan to do that an entire human lifetime is barely enough for me to finish everything I'm thinking, and to set it down in writing. That's why I have an absolute need for countryside, quiet, solitude.

HERE LIES A GREEK WHO HATES THE GREEKS.

I have one and only one wish: to withdraw from the world, to live far away in the countryside in a beautiful house, and to study and work there, all alone. I hope to realize that dream next yeat, when I will be thirty years old and will say goodbye to the world forever.

Quand ma bouche défaille sur Ton corps, j'ai pitié de Tes pauvres lèvres et de Tes yeux purs et de Ton front blanc et de Ta poitrine qui ne renferme que de l'amour. J'ai pitié de Toi, parce que je Te salis tout entière parce que je sens que mes lèvres sont souillées et ne sont pas lavées de tous les livres qu'elles ont lus et qu'elles ressemblent à des chenilles qui tachent de leurs baisers, les feuilles des lys. ~ P 55 - 56

Dichoso el hombre—pensé—que haya logrado, antes de morir, navegar por el Egeo».

Nu face nimic dac? n-ai cap; p?l?rie s? ai.

eli, eli, lema sabachtani

Pentru c? se face treaba pe jum?tate, îmi spunea el uneori, c?-ÅŸi spun oamenii oful pe jum?tate, c?-s p?c?toÅŸi sau cinstiÅ£i pe jum?tate, de-aia e lumea în starea jalnic? în care e acum. Mergi pân? la cap?t, loveÅŸte cu putere, nu-Å£i fie team?, ÅŸi vei birui. Bunului Dumnezeu îi e de-o sut? de ori mai scârb? de-o jum?tate de drac decât de-un drac ÅŸi jum?tate!

Tanr? bir uçurumdur.

I'm sad, uneasy. I look with awe on my life and soul. Nothing satisfies me.

They were panting dwarfs, imps gasping for breath, and their beards dragged along the ground. Each carried a strange implement of torture. Some held bloody leather belts studded with iron, some clasp knives and ox goads, some thick, wide-headed nails. Three midgets whose behinds nearly scraped the ground carried a massive, unwieldy cross; and last of all came the vilest of the lot, a cross-eyed pygmy holding a crown of thorns.

I say one thing, you write another, and those who read you understand still something else!

The Lord preserve us from sainthood

There is only one essence, always the same. As yet, man has found no other means to elevate himself - none but routing of matter and the submissions of the individual to an end which transcends the individual, even though that end be chimerical. When the heart believes and loves, nothing chimerical exists; nothing exists but courage, trust and fruitful action.

Till now, I told myself, You have only seen the shadow and been well content with it; now, I am going to lead you into the substance.