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Franz Kafka

Franz Kafka Quotes

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Famous Franz Kafka Quotes

“I don't know who the great lawyers are, and I presume you can't get to them. I know of no case where it can be said for certain that they took part. They defend some people, but you can't get them to do that through your own efforts, they only defend the ones they want to defend. But I assume a case they take on must have progressed beyond the lower court. It's better not to think of them at all, otherwise you'll find the consultations with the other lawyers, their advice and their assistance, extremely disgusting and useless.”

PeopleThinkingKnowsWantSaidCertainEffortCasesAdviceCourtAssumingLawyerUselessDisgustingAssistanceConsultation
Author:Franz Kafka
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“I have no memory for things I have learned, nor things I have read, nor things experienced or heard, neither for people nor events; I feel that I have experienced nothing, learned nothing, that I actually know less than the average schoolboy, and that what I do know is superficial, and that every second question is beyond me. I am incapable of thinking deliberately; my thoughts run into a wall. I can grasp the essence of things in isolation, but I am quite incapable of coherent, unbroken thinking. I can't even tell a story properly; in fact, I can scarcely talk.”

PeopleThinkingKnowsFeelsI CanFactsStoriesRunningMemoriesHeardEventsWallEssenceAverageIsolationI Have LearnedIncapableSuperficialMy ThoughtsEvery SecondUnbrokenNo Memory
Author:Franz Kafka
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“I stand on the end platform of the tram and am completely unsure of my footing in this world, in this town, in my family. Not even casually could I indicate any claims that I might rightly advance in any direction. I have not even any defense to offer for standing on this platform, holding on to this strap, letting myself be carried along by this tram, nor for the people who give way to the tram or walk quietly along or stand gazing into shop windows. Nobody asks me to put up a defense, indeed, but that is irrelevant.”

PeopleWorldWayGivingEndsMightAsksWalksThis WorldOffersStandingWindowMy FamilyClaimsTownsDefenseAsk MeShopsPlatformsIrrelevantHolding OnGazingUnsureShop WindowsTrams
Book:The Metamorphosis: And Other Stories
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“People keep themselves at a tolerable height above an infernal abyss toward which they gravitate only by putting out all their strength and lovingly helping one another. They are tied together by ropes, and it's bad enough when the ropes around an individual loosen and he drops somewhat lower than the others into empty space; ghastly when the ropes break and he falls. That's why we should cling to the others.”

PeopleShouldEnoughHelpingTogetherFallIndividualSpaceBreakEmptyHeightTiedAbyssRopeEmpty SpaceTolerableGhastly
Book:Letters to friends, family, and editors
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“There has never been a time in which I have been convinced from within myself that I am alive. You see, I have only such a fugitive awareness of things around me that I always feel they were once real and are now fleeting away. I have a constant longing, my dear sir, to catch a glimpse of things as they may have been before they show themselves to me.”

PeopleFeelsMayHas BeensRealShowsBeautifulTalkingAliveAwarenessLongingConstantCalmDearConvincedGlimpseFleetingFugitivePeople TalkingI Am Alive
Author:Franz Kafka
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