Our art is a way of being dazzled by truth: the light on the grotesquely grimacing retreating face is true, and nothing else.
Franz KafkaLike tired dogs they stand there, because they use up all their strength in remaining upright in one's memory.
Franz KafkaThe door could not be heard slamming; they had probably left it open, as is the custom in homes where a great misfortune has occurred.
Franz KafkaYou're not cross with me, though?" he said. She pulled her hand away and answered, "No, no, I'm never cross with anyone.
Franz KafkaEvil is the radiation of the human consciousness in certain transitional positions. It is not actually the sensual world that is amere appearance; what is so is the evil of it, which, admittedly, is what constitutes the sensual world in our eyes.
Franz KafkaEverything is deception: seeking the minimum of illusion, keeping within the ordinary limitations, seeking the maximum. In the first case one cheats the Good, by trying to make it too easy for oneself to get it, and the Evil by imposing all too unfavorable conditions of warfare on it. In the second case one cheats the Good by keeping as aloof from it as possible, and the Evil by hoping to make it powerless through intensifying it to the utmost.
Franz Kafka