Man is able, and has the duty, to reach the furthest point on the road he has chosen. Only by means of hope can we attain what is beyond hope.
Nikos KazantzakisLions and Lambs, love and force, light and fire, good and evil: all things climb the same mountain, the mountain of God.
Nikos KazantzakisWhat is truth? What is falsehood? Whatever gives wings to men, whatever produces great works and great souls and lifts up a man's height above the earth - that's true. Whatever clips off man's wings - that's false.
Nikos KazantzakisEvery obstacle in his journey became a milestone, an occasion for further triumph. We have a model in front of us now, a model who blazes our trail and gives us strength.
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 KazantzakisWithin this arena, which grows more stable night after day, generations work and love and hope and vanish. New generations tread on the corpses of their fathers, continue the work above the abyss and struggle to tame the dread mystery. How? By cultivating a single field, by kissing a woman, by studying a stone, an animal, an idea.
Nikos Kazantzakis