Today, any action anywhere on earth has an immediate repercussion on all five continents. News of a victory of the Eastern armies in Morocco or Shanghai travels instantly, thanks to modern means of communication, to all Eastern peoples and fills them with enthusiasm and faith. This phenomenon is, of course, unprecedented in the history of man.
Nikos KazantzakisLook, one day I had gone to a little village. An old grandfather of ninety was busy planting an almond tree. โWhat, grandfather!โ I exclaimed. โPlanting an almond tree?โ And he, bent as he was, turned around and said: โMy son, I carry on as if I should never die.โ I replied: โAnd I carry on as if I was going to die any minute.โ Which of us was right, boss?
Nikos KazantzakisThe truth is that we all are one, that all of us together create god, that god is not man's ancestor, but his descendant.
Nikos KazantzakisWe're going to start with small, easy things; then, little by little we shall try our hand at the big things. And after that, after we finish the big things, we shall undertake the impossible.
Nikos KazantzakisI say one thing, you write another, and those who read you understand still something else! I say: cross, death, kingdom of heaven, God...and what do you understand? Each of you attaches his own suffering, interests and desires to each of these sacred words, and my words disappear, my soul is lost. I can't stand it any longer!
Nikos KazantzakisWhen shall I at last retire into solitude alone, without companions, without joy and without sorrow, with only the sacred certainty that all is a dream? When, in my ragsโwithout desiresโshall I retire contented into the mountains? When, seeing that my body is merely sickness and crime, age and death, shall Iโfree, fearless, and blissfulโretire to the forest? When? When, oh when?
Nikos Kazantzakis