“We see that in the organic world, to the same degree that reflection gets darker and weaker, grace grows ever more radiant and dominant. But just as two lines intersect on one side of a point, and after passing through infinity, suddenly come together again on the other side; or the image in a concave mirror suddenly reappears before us after drawing away into the infinite distance, so too, does grace return once perception, as it were, has traversed the infinite--such that it simultaneously appears the purest in human bodily structures that are either devoid of consciousness or which possess an infinite consciousness, such as in the jointed manikin or the god.” GodConsciousnessGraceInnocenceSelf KnowledgeSelf Reflection Book:Selected Prose Source: Selected Prose
“In Santiago, the capital of the kingdom of Chile, at the moment of the great earthquake of 1647 in which many thousands lost their lives, a young Spaniard called Jeronimo Rugera was standing beside one of the pillars in the prison to which he had been committed on a criminal charge, and he was about to hang himself.” HistorySuicidePrisonChileFirst Sentence Book:Kleist: Selected Writings Source: Kleist: Selected Writings
“Der Marquise stürzte der Schmerz aus den Augen. [...] Sie sank, als sie die Türe verschlossen fand, mit jammender Stimme, alle Heiligen zu Zeugen ihrer Unschuld anrufend, vor derselben nieder,” German LiteratureDeutsche Literatur Book:Die Marquise von O... / Das Erdbeben in Chili Source: Die Marquise von O... / Das Erdbeben in Chili
“Ihr Verstand, stark genug, in ihrer sonderbaren Lage nicht zu reißen, gab sich ganz unter der großen, heiligen und unerklärlichen Einrichtung der Welt gefangen.” Deutsche Literatur Book:Die Marquise von O... / Das Erdbeben in Chili Source: Die Marquise von O... / Das Erdbeben in Chili
“Because dearest Lisbeth, I will not abide in a country in which my rights are not protected. If I am to be trampled underfoot, I would rather be a dog than a man. I am certain that, on this point, my wife thinks with me.” Pertinent Book:Michael Kohlhaas Source: Michael Kohlhaas