WIST

Man cannot live without an enduring faith in something indestructible within him.

Franz Kafka (1883-1924) Austrian writer
(Attribute)
In Max Brod, introduction to Gustav Janouch, Conversations with Kafka (1953) [tr. Rees] Alt trans: "Man cannot live long without a steady faith in something indestructible within him, though both faith and the indestructible thing may remain permanently concealed from him."

Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy.

Franz Kafka (1883-1924) Austrian writer
(Attributed)

There are two cardinal sins from which all others spring: impatience and laziness.

Franz Kafka (1883-1924) Austrian writer
(Attributed)

There are some things one can only achieve by a deliberate leap in the opposite direction.

Franz Kafka (1883-1924) Austrian writer
Conversations with Kafka (by Gustav Janouch)
(tr. Goronwy Rees, 1953)

Every one of us has a bad conscience, which he tries to escape by going to sleep as quickly as possible.

Franz Kafka (1883-1924) Austrian writer
In G. Janouch, Conversations with Kafka [tr. G. Rees (1953)]

Every man lives behind bars, which he carries within him.

Franz Kafka (1883-1924) Austrian writer
In Gustav Janouch, “Conversations with Kafka,” Encounter (Aug 1971) [tr. Rees]

History is made out of the failures and heroism of each insignificant moment. If one throws a stone into a river, it produces a succession of ripples. But most men live without being conscious of a responsibility which extends beyond themselves. And that — I think — is the root of our misery.

Franz Kafka (1883-1924) Austrian writer
In Gustav Janouch, Conversations with Kafka [tr. Rees (1953)]

As the flood spreads wider and wider, the water becomes shallower and dirtier. The Revolution evaporates, leaving behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy. The chains of tormented mankind are made out of red tape.

Franz Kafka (1883-1924) Austrian writer
In Gustav Janouch, Conversations with Kafka [tr. G. Rees (1953)]