Suppose you succeed in breaking the wall with your head. And what, then, will you do in the next cell?
Stanislaw Lec (1909–1966) Polish aphorist, poet, satirist
(Attributed)
Quotations by:
Lec, Stanislaw
Those who are ahead of their time often have to wait for it in uncomfortable quarters.
Stanislaw Lec (1909–1966) Polish aphorist, poet, satirist
(Attributed)
No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible.
[Żaden płatek śniegu nie czuje się odpowiedzialny za lawinę.]
Stanislaw Lec (1909–1966) Polish aphorist, poet, satirist
More Unkempt Thoughts [Myśli nieuczesane nowe] (1964) [tr. Gałązka (1969)]
(Source)
Another translation: "Each snowflake in an avalanche pleads not guilty."
More discussion of this quotation here: No Snowflake in an Avalanche Ever Feels Responsible – Quote Investigator.
Politics: a Trojan horse race.
Stanislaw Lec (1909–1966) Polish aphorist, poet, satirist
More Unkempt Thoughts [Myśli nieuczesane nowe] (1964) [tr. Gałązka (1969)]
(Source)
It is the high priests that make demands — not the gods they serve.
Stanislaw Lec (1909–1966) Polish aphorist, poet, satirist
More Unkempt Thoughts [Myśli nieuczesane nowe] (1964) [tr. Gałązka (1969)]
(Source)
The only fool bigger than the person who knows it all is the person who argues with him.
Stanislaw Lec (1909–1966) Polish aphorist, poet, satirist
Unkempt Thoughts [Myśli nieuczesane] (1957) [tr. Gałązka (1962)]
Thoughts, like fleas, jump from man to man. But they don’t bite everybody.
Stanislaw Lec (1909–1966) Polish aphorist, poet, satirist
Unkempt Thoughts [Myśli nieuczesane] (1957) [tr. Gałązka (1962)]
(Source)
He who limps still walks.
Stanislaw Lec (1909–1966) Polish aphorist, poet, satirist
Unkempt Thoughts [Myśli nieuczesane] (1957) [tr. Gałązka (1962)]
(Source)
Variant: "He who limps still walks."
I am against using death as a punishment. I am also against using it as a reward.
Stanislaw Lec (1909–1966) Polish aphorist, poet, satirist
Unkempt Thoughts [Myśli nieuczesane] (1957) [tr. Gałązka (1962)]
Burning stakes do not lighten the darkness.
Stanislaw Lec (1909–1966) Polish aphorist, poet, satirist
Unkempt Thoughts [Myśli nieuczesane] (1957) [tr. Gałązka (1962)]
(Source)
The face of the enemy frightens me only when I see how much it resembles mine.
Stanislaw Lec (1909–1966) Polish aphorist, poet, satirist
Unkempt Thoughts [Myśli nieuczesane] (1957) [tr. Gałązka (1962)]
What do I believe? I believe in God, if he exists.
Stanislaw Lec (1909–1966) Polish aphorist, poet, satirist
Unkempt Thoughts [Myśli nieuczesane] (1957) [tr. Gałązka (1962)]
Proverbs contradict each other. That is the wisdom of a nation.
Stanislaw Lec (1909–1966) Polish aphorist, poet, satirist
Unkempt Thoughts [Myśli nieuczesane] (1957) [tr. Gałązka (1962)]
(Source)
Is it progress if a cannibal uses knife and fork?
[Czy jeżeli ludożerca je widelcem i nożem to postęp?]
Stanislaw Lec (1909–1966) Polish aphorist, poet, satirist
Unkempt Thoughts [Myśli nieuczesane] (1957) [tr. Gałązka (1962)]
(Source)
When smashing monuments, save the pedestals — they always come in handy.
[Burząc pomniki, oszczędzajcie cokoły. Zawsze mogą się przydać.]
Stanislaw Lec (1909–1966) Polish aphorist, poet, satirist
Unkempt Thoughts [Myśli nieuczesane] (1957) [tr. Gałązka (1962)]
(Source)
All is in the hands of man. Therefore you should wash them often.
[Wszystko jest w rękach człowieka. Dlatego należy je często myć.]
Stanislaw Lec (1909–1966) Polish aphorist, poet, satirist
Unkempt Thoughts [Myśli nieuczesane] (1957) [tr. Gałązka (1962)]
(Source)
There were grammatical errors even in his silence.
[Nawet w jego milczeniu były błędy językowe.]
Stanislaw Lec (1909–1966) Polish aphorist, poet, satirist
Unkempt Thoughts [Myśli nieuczesane] (1957) [tr. Gałązka (1962)]
(Source)
Other translation: "Even in his silence were grammatical errors."
I will only shake my finger at him, he said, and placed it on the trigger.
[Pogrożę mu tylko palcem – rzekł, kładąc go na cynglu.]
Stanislaw Lec (1909–1966) Polish aphorist, poet, satirist
Unkempt Thoughts [Myśli nieuczesane] (1957) [tr. Gałązka (1962)]
(Source)
Other translation: "'I will just wag my finger at him,' he said, putting it on the trigger."
You will always find some Eskimos ready to instruct the Congolese on how to cope with heat waves.
Stanislaw Lec (1909–1966) Polish aphorist, poet, satirist
Unkempt Thoughts [Myśli nieuczesane] (1957) [tr. Gałązka (1962)]
(Source)
Do not ask God the way to heaven; he will show you the hardest one.
Stanislaw Lec (1909–1966) Polish aphorist, poet, satirist
Unkempt Thoughts [Myśli nieuczesane] (1957) [tr. Gałązka (1962)]
(Source)
When you jump for joy, beware that no one moves the ground from beneath your feet.
[Gdy z radości podskoczysz do góry, uważaj, by ci ktoś ziemi spod nóg nie usunął.]
Stanislaw Lec (1909–1966) Polish aphorist, poet, satirist
Unkempt Thoughts [Myśli nieuczesane] (1957) [tr. Gałązka (1962)]
(Source)
Satirists, be careful. In the 1931 film by René Clair, Vive la Liberte, a song says, “Work is freedom.” In 1940 the sign on the gates to Auschwitz said: “Arbeit macht frei.”
Stanislaw Lec (1909–1966) Polish aphorist, poet, satirist
Unkempt Thoughts [Myśli nieuczesane] (1957) [tr. Gałązka (1962)]
(Source)