Franz Kafka Sayings and Quotes

Below you will find our collection of inspirational, wise, and humorous old Franz Kafka quotes, Franz Kafka sayings, and Franz Kafka proverbs, collected over the years from a variety of sources.'

In science one tries to tell people, in such a way as to be understood by everyone, something that no one ever knew before. But in poetry, it's the exact opposite. Franz Kafka
Humility provides everyone, even him who despairs in solitude, with the strongest relationship to his fellow man, and this immediately, though, of course, only in the case of complete and permanent humility. Franz Kafka
Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old. Franz Kafka
One must not cheat anybody, not even the world of one's triumph. Franz Kafka
A book must be an ice-axe to break the seas frozen inside our soul. Franz Kafka
There are some things one can only achieve by a deliberate leap in the opposite direction. Franz Kafka
Suffering is the positive element in this world, indeed it is the only link between this world and the positive. Franz Kafka
You are at once both the quiet and the confusion of my heart. Franz Kafka
The meaning of life is that it stops. Franz Kafka
Believing in progress does not mean believing that any progress has yet been made. Franz Kafka
First impressions are always unreliable. Franz Kafka
Start with what is right rather than what is acceptable. Franz Kafka
You are free and that is why you are lost. Franz Kafka
One must not cheat anybody, not even the world of one's triumph. Franz Kafka
May I kiss you then? On this miserable paper? I might as well open the window and kiss the night air. Franz Kafka
I miss you deeply, unfathomably, senselessly, terribly. Franz Kafka
Writing is utter solitude, the descent into the cold abyss of oneself. Franz Kafka
Isolation is a way to know ourselves. Franz Kafka
A non-writing writer is a monster courting insanity. Franz Kafka
Don't despair, not even over the fact that you don't despair. Franz Kafka
Productivity is being able to do things that you were never able to do before. Franz Kafka
A lawyer is a person who writes a 10,000-word document and calls it a brief. Franz Kafka
But what if all the tranquility, all the comfort, all the contentment were now to come to a horrifying end? Franz Kafka
We all have wings, but they have not been of any avail to us and if we could tear them off, we would do so. Franz Kafka
Hiding places there are innumerable, escape is only one, but possibilities of escape, again, are as many as hiding places. Franz Kafka
Tyranny or slavery, born of selfishness, are the two educational methods of parents; all gradations of tyranny or slavery. Franz Kafka
So long as you have food in your mouth, you have solved all questions for the time being. Franz Kafka
One advantage in keeping a diary is that you become aware with reassuring clarity of the changes which you constantly suffer. Franz Kafka
Association with human beings lures one into self-observation. Franz Kafka
The indestructible is one: it is each individual human being and, at the same time, it is common to all, hence the incomparably indivisible union that exists between human beings. Franz Kafka