Some deny the existence of misery by pointing to the sun; he denies the existence of the sun by pointing to misery.
Franz KafkaRead
So eager are our people to obliterate the present.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects a human tendency to disregard the present moment in favor of an imagined future or past.
Franz Kafka's quote suggests that people often exhibit a deep-seated desire to escape the realities of the present. This eagerness to obliterate the present indicates a struggle with accepting reality as it is, and it points to a common human behavior where individuals prioritize their hopes, regrets, or aspirations over the immediacy of life unfolding around them.
Themes
PresentHuman BehaviorRealityEscapeExistence
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about living in the moment, this quote could highlight the dangers of neglecting present experiences.
More from Franz Kafka
All quotes βOne can disintegrate the world by means of very strong light. For weak eyes the world becomes solid, for still weaker eyes it seems to develop fists, for eyes weaker still it becomes shamefaced and smashes anyone who dares to gaze upon it.
Franz KafkaRead
But Gregor understood easily that it was not only consideration for him which prevented their moving, for he could easily have been transported in a suitable crate with a few air holes; what mainly prevented the family from moving was their complete hopelessness and the thought that they had been struck by a misfortune as none of their relatives and acquaintances had ever been hit.
Franz KafkaRead
Association with human beings lures one into self-observation.
Franz KafkaRead
A non-writing writer is a monster courting insanity.
Franz KafkaRead
The ulterior motives with which you absorb and assimilate Evil are not your own but those of Evil. _x000D_ The animal wrests the whip from its master and whips itself in order to become master, not knowing that this is only a fantasy produced by a new knot in the master's whiplash.
Franz KafkaRead
Similar quotes
Man was born free, and he is everywhere in chains. Those who think themselves the masters of others are indeed greater slaves than they.
Jean-Jacques RousseauRead
Ireland, sir, for good or evil, is like no other place under heaven, and no man can touch its sod or breathe its air without becoming better or worse.
George Bernard ShawRead
Addiction should never be treated as a crime. It has to be treated as a health problem. We do not send alcoholics to jail in this country. Over 500,000 people are in our jails who are nonviolent drug users.
Ralph NaderRead
It is no longer simply the merchant prince, or the aristocratic monopoly, or even the employing class, that is exploiting the world: it is the nation, a new democratic nation composed of united capital and labor.
Howard ZinnRead
Men are so necessarily mad, that not to be mad would amount to another form of madness.
Blaise PascalRead
Futurists don't consider overpopulation one of the issues of the future. They consider it the issue of the future.
Dan BrownRead