Franz Kafka Quotes

We are sinful not only because we have eaten of the Tree of Knowledge, but also because we have not yet eaten of the Tree of Life. The state in which we are is sinful, irrespective of guilt.

You can hold yourself back from the sufferings of the world, that is something you are free to do and it accords with your nature, but perhaps this very holding back is the one suffering you could avoid.

Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never g... -Franz Kafka

Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old.

It is not necessary that you leave the house. Remain at your table and listen. Do not even listen, only wait. Do not even wait, be wholly still and alone. The world will present itself to you for its unmasking, it can do no other, in ecstasy it will writhe at your feet.

God gives the nuts, but he does not crack them.

Discovering the context

This quote metaphorically conveys the idea that while life may present us with opportunities or resources, it is our responsibility to exert effort, take action, and make the most of those resources. It emphasizes personal agency and the importance of initiative.

Suffering is the positive element in this world, indeed it is the only link between this world and the positive.

So long as you have food in your mouth, you have s... -Franz Kafka

So long as you have food in your mouth, you have solved all questions for the time being.

My 'fear' is my substance, and probably the best p... -Franz Kafka

My 'fear' is my substance, and probably the best part of me.

Discovering the context

This quote intriguingly personifies fear as a significant element of the speaker's identity or personality. It implies that fear is an integral aspect of their nature, possibly serving as a source of motivation, caution, or self-awareness. It reflects on the complex relationship individuals have with their fears and insecurities.

The relationship to one's fellow man is the relationship of prayer, the relationship to oneself is the relationship of striving; it is from prayer that one draws the strength for one's striving.

There are only two things. Truth and lies. Truth is indivisible, hence it cannot recognize itself; anyone who wants to recognize it has to be a lie.

Start with what is right rather than what is accep... -Franz Kafka

Start with what is right rather than what is acceptable.

Don Quixote's misfortune is not his imagination, b... -Franz Kafka

Don Quixote's misfortune is not his imagination, but Sancho Panza.

How pathetically scanty my self-knowledge is compared with, say, my knowledge of my room. There is no such thing as observation of the inner world, as there is of the outer world.

The experience of life consists of the experience which the spirit has of itself in matter and as matter, in mind and as mind, in emotion, as emotion, etc.

In theory there is a possibility of perfect happiness: To believe in the indestructible element within one, and not to strive towards it.

By imposing too great a responsibility, or rather, all responsibility, on yourself, you crush yourself.

Youth is happy because it has the ability to see beauty. Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old.

Sensual love deceives one as to the nature of heavenly love; it could not do so alone, but since it unconsciously has the element of heavenly love within it, it can do so.

Woman, or more precisely put, perhaps, marriage, is the representative of life with which you are meant to come to terms.

The history of mankind is the instant between two ... -Franz Kafka

The history of mankind is the instant between two strides taken by a traveler.

Discovering the context

This quote metaphorically characterizes the history of humanity as a fleeting moment or brief period, likening it to the time it takes for a traveler to complete two steps. It implies a perspective that emphasizes the brevity and transitory nature of human existence and historical timeframes.

Not everyone can see the truth, but he can be it.

Franz Kafka Quotes

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