Quotes from Patrick Süskind

Das Unglück des Menschen rührt daher, daß er nicht still in seinem Zimmer bleiben will, dort, wo er hingehört. Sagt Pascal. Aber Pascal

Unlike flowers, the animals he tried to macerate would not yield up their scent without complaints or with a mute sigh — they fought desperately against death…and in their fear of death created large quantities of sweat whose acidity ruined the warm oil… The objects would have to be quieted down, and so suddenly that they would have no time to become afraid or to resist. He would have to kill them.

Her zaman özlediÄŸi ÅŸey, insanlar?n kendisini sevmesi yani, ulaÅŸt??? anda dayan?lmaz bir ÅŸey olup ç?km??t?, çünkü o kendisi sevmiyordu insanlar?, onlardan nefret ediyordu. Birdenbire doyumu hiçbir zaman sevgide deÄŸil, nefrette bulmuÅŸ olduÄŸunu anlad?, nefrette ve kendinden nefret edilmesinde.

L'ignorance n'a rien de honteux, la plupart des hommes voient en elle le bonheur. Et, de fait, elle est le seul bonheur possible en ce monde.

Aunque no contaba todavía treinta años, madame Gaillard ya tenía la vida a sus espaldas.

Und auch in der synthetisierenden Geruchsküche seiner Phantasie, in der er ständig neue Duftkombinationen zusammenstellte, herrschte noch kein ästhetisches Prinzip. Es waren Bizarrerien, die er schuf und alsbald wieder zerstörte wie ein Kind, das mit Bauklötzen spielt, erfindungsreich und destruktiv, ohne erkennbares schöpferisches Prinzip.

feo, desde luego, pero no hasta el extremo de causar espanto.

Und auch in der synthetisierenden Geruchsküche seiner Phantasie, in der er ständig neue Duftkombinationen zusammenstellte, herrschte noch kein ästhetisches Prinzip. Es waren Bizarrerien, die er schuf und alsbald wieder zerstörte wie ein Kind, das mit Bauklötzen spielt, erfindungsreich und destruktiv, ohne erkennbares schöpferisches Prinzip." ? Patrick Süskind, Das Parfum

La desgracia del hombre se debe a que no quiere permanecer tranquilo en su habitación, que es su hogar

Dondequiera que uno dirigiese la mirada, reinaba el desenfreno. La gente leía libros, incluso las mujeres.

Des Menschen Duft an und für sich war ihm auch gleichgültich. Des Menschen Duft konnte er hinreichend gut mit Surrogaten imitieren. Was er begehrte, war der Duft gewisser Menschen: jener äußerst seltenen Menschen nämlich, die Liebe inspirieren. Diese waren seine Opfer.

Der Kontrabaß ist das scheußlichste, plumpeste, uneleganteste Instrument, das je erfunden wurde. Ein Waldschrat von Instrument.

And yet they were alike, so Jonathan thought, the sphinx and the guard, for the power of both was not instrumental, it was symbolic.

When it came to arrogance, misanthropy, immortality, or, more succinctly, wickedness but because of his gifts and his sole ambition were restricted to the domain that leaves no traces in history: to the fleeting realm of scent

a guard was like a sphinx. He functioned not by some deed, but rather by his mere bodily presence.

But if you could not close a door behind you to take a shit in the city--even if it was just the door to a shared toilet--if this one, most essential freedom was taken from you, the freedom, that is, to withdraw from other people when necessity called, then all other freedoms were worthless. Then life had no more meaning. Then it would be better to be dead.

Por un momento, durante unos segundos, durante toda una eternidad, según se le antojó a él, el tiempo se dobló o desapareció por completo, porque ya no sabía si ahora era ahora y aquí era aquí, o ahora era entonces y aquí era allí

Fifty yards farther, he turned off to the right up the rue des Marais, a narrow alley hardly a span wide and darker still—if that was possible. Strangely enough, the scent was not much stronger. It was only purer, and in its augmented purity, it took on an even greater power of attraction. Grenouille walked with no will of his own.

De toutes ces péripéties, Jonathan Noël tira la conclusion qu'on ne pouvait se fier aux humains et qu'on ne saurait vivre en paix qu'en les tenant à l'écart.»

talent means nothing, while experience, acquired in humility and with hard work, means everything.

Odors have a power of persuasion stronger than that of words, appearances, emotions, or will. The persuasive power of an odor cannot be fended off, it enters into us like breath into our lungs, it fills us up, imbues us totally. There is no remedy for it.

Not a visible enthusiasm but a hidden one, an excitement burning with a cold flame.

He possessed the power. He held it in his hand. A power stronger than the power of money or the power of terror or the power of death: the invincible power to command the love of mankind. There was only one thing that power could not do: it could not make him able to smell himself.

He who ruled scent ruled the hearts of men.