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Quote by Robert Musil

“Writing [for the novelist] is not an activity, but a condition. That is why one simply can't resume the work when one has a job and a free half-day. Reading is the conveyance of this condition.”

Quote by Robert Musil

Author

Robert Musil, born on November 6, 1880, and died on April 15, 1942, was one of the greatest German novelists of the 20th century. He is renowned for his profound psychological portrayals and philosophical reflections in his works. more

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“... the structure of a page of good prose is, analyzed logically, not something frozen but the vibrating of a bridge, which changes with every step one takes on it.”

Steps Pages Structure Bridges Prose Frozen Every Step

Book:Precision and Soul: Essays and Addresses

Source: Precision and Soul: Essays and Addresses

“... the novel is called upon like no other art form to incorporate the intellectual content of an age.”

Art Age Form Literature Novel Intellectual

Book:Precision and Soul: Essays and Addresses

Source: Precision and Soul: Essays and Addresses

“But how do I get to having to write a book?... It was a mother who bore me, not an inkwell!”

Writing Book Mother Bores

Author:Robert Musil

“... there is a particular propensity in the world for people, wherever they appear in great numbers, to permit themselves collectively everything that would be forbidden them individually.”

People World Would Be Numbers Human Nature Particular Temptation Permit Forbidden Propensity

Book:Precision and Soul: Essays and Addresses

Source: Precision and Soul: Essays and Addresses

“... we engage in politics because we don't know anything. This is clearly revealed in the way we go about it. Our parties exist from a fear of theory. The voter fears that one idea can always be contradicted by another. Therefore the parties reciprocally defend themselves against the few old ideas they have inherited. They don't live from what they promise, but from frustrating the promises of others. This is their silent community of interests.”

Knows Way Ideas Politics Interest Community Party Theory Promise Silent Voters Frustrating Old Ideas

Author:Robert Musil

“It seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement; the greatest source of visual beauty; the greatest source of intellectual interest. It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living.”

“... the genius never makes anything new, but always something that is just different, and the average talents provide him the possibility within which his genius condenses into achievements.”

Different Talent Possibility Genius Achievement Average

Book:Precision and Soul: Essays and Addresses

Source: Precision and Soul: Essays and Addresses

“Wordsworth's particular grace, his charisma, as theologians say, has been granted in equal measure to so very few men since time was--to Plato and who else? The crucial thing is never what we do, but always what we do right after that. What matters is always the next step!”

Men Has Beens Matter Action Next Steps Grace Particular Equal Granted Crucial What Matters Plato Theologian Charisma Next Steps Wordsworth

Author:Robert Musil

“... for the modern soul, for which it is mere child's play to bridge oceans and continents, there is nothing so impossible as to find the contact with the souls dwelling just around the corner.”

Children Soul Play Impossible Modern Ocean Mere Corners Contact Bridges Continents Dwelling Around The Corner

Author:Robert Musil

“... nothing is more human than substituting the quantity of words and actions for their character. But using imprecise words is very similar to using lots of words, for the more imprecise a word is, the greater the area it covers.”

Humans Character Action Talking Greater Human Nature Areas Stupidity Quantity Words And Actions

Book:Precision and Soul: Essays and Addresses

Source: Precision and Soul: Essays and Addresses