A book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us.

Ein Buch muß die Axt sein für das gefrorene Meer in uns.

Franz Kafka

More information about this quote

Topic

Self-discovery Power of literature Books

Author

Franz Kafka

Source

Letters of Franz Kafka

Medium

Letter

Statement Type

Metaphor, analogy and simile

Language

German

Time

1904 1900s 20th century

Occupation

Writer

From

Czech Republic Europe

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Kafka, Franz. Letter to Oskar Pollak. 27 Jan. 1904.

Current Citation

Kafka, Franz. Franz Kafka: Letters to Friends, Family, and Editors, translated by Richard and Clara Winston. Schocken, 1990.

Illustrated Quote

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A quote by Franz Kafka about self-discovery: “A book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us.”
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Related Quotes

Below are one or more quotes that share at least one tag with the quote at the top of the page

Another quote from the 1900s

Pessimism (or rather what is called such) is, in brief, playing the sure game. You cannot lose at it; you may gain. It is the only view of life in which you can never be disappointed.

Thomas Hardy

More information about this quote
Topic
Pessimism Low expectations

Author

Thomas Hardy
Medium
Personal journal
Language
English
Time
1902 1900s 20th century
Authentication Score 3
Original Citation

Hardy, Thomas. Notebook entry. 1 Jan. 1902.

Current Citation

Hardy, Thomas. Quoted in The Poetry of Thomas Hardy: A Handbook and Commentary, written by J. O. Bailey. UNC Press Books, 2018.

Another quote about Power of literature

A library doesn't need windows. A library is a window.

Stewart Brand

How Buildings Learn

More information about this quote
Topic
Libraries Power of literature

Author

Stewart Brand
Source
How Buildings Learn
Language
English
Time
1994 1990s 20th century
Authentication Score 3
Citation

Brand, Stewart. How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They're Built. Viking Press, 1994, ch. 3.

Another quote originally in German

Doubt grows with knowledge.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

More information about this quote
Topic
Doubt and skepticism

Author

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Statement Type
Paradox
Language
German
Time
1819 1810s 19th century
Authentication Score 3
Original Citation

Von Goethe, Johann Wolfgang. "Individual Points." Ueber Kunst und Altersthum [On Art and Antiquity]. 1826, vol. 5, issue 3.

Current Citation

Von Goethe, Johann Wolfgang. Maxims and Reflections, edited by Peter Hutchinson, translated by Elisabeth Stopp. Penguin Classics, 1999, no. 281.

Another quote of the following type Metaphor, analogy and simile

Great Estates may venture more;
Little Boats must keep near Shore.

Poor Richard (Benjamin Franklin)

Buy Poor Richard's Almanack at Amazon Buy Poor Richard's Almanack at Amazon
Read this proverb at the National Archives website
More information about this quote
Topic
Appetite for risk Taking risks Risk Rich vs. poor

Author

Poor Richard (Benjamin Franklin)
Source
Poor Richard's Almanack
Medium
Almanac
Statement Type
Proverbs, aphorisms and adages Metaphor, analogy and simile
Language
English
Time
1751 1750s 18th century
Era
Colonial America
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Franklin, Benjamin [published as Richard Saunders]. Poor Richard Improved. Philadelphia, 1751.

Current Citation

Franklin, Benjamin. "Poor Richard Improved." Benjamin Franklin: Autobiography, Poor Richard, and Later Writings, edited by J. A. Leo Lemay. Library of America, 2005.