Auto-da-Fé Quotes

“Understanding, as we understand it, is misunderstanding.”
― Elias Canetti, Auto-da-Fé

“Almost Kien was tempted to believe in happiness, that contemptible life-goal of illiterates. If it came of itself, without being hunted for, if you did not hold it fast by force and treated it with a certain condescension, it was permissible to endure its presence for a few days”
― Elias Canetti, Auto-da-Fé

“You draw closer to truth by shutting yourself off from mankind.”
― Elias Canetti, Auto-da-Fé

“How unfair, he thought; I can close my mouth whenever I like, as tight as I like, and what has a mouth to say? It is there for taking in nourishment, yet it is well defended, but ears - ears are a prey to every onslaught.”
― Elias Canetti, Auto-da-Fé

“His meals were always punctual. Whether she cooked well or badly he did not know; it was a matter of total indifference to him. During his meals, which he ate at his writing desk, he was busy with important considerations. As a rule he would not have been able to say what precisely he had in his mouth. He reserved consciousness for real thoughts; they depend upon it; without consciousness, thoughts are unthinkable. Chewing and digestion happen of themselves.”
― Elias Canetti, Auto-da-Fé

“Yes, this was his home. Here no harm could come to him. He smiled at the mere idea that any harm could come to him here. He avoided looking at the divan on which he slept. Every human creature needed a home, not a home of the kind understood by crude knock-you-down patriots, not a religion either, a mere insipid foretaste of a heavenly home: no, a real home, in which space, work, friends, recreation, and the scope of a man's ideas came together into an orderly whole, into — so to speak — a personal cosmos. The best definition of a home was a library.”
― Elias Canetti, Auto-da-Fé

“In the hierarchy of man's activities, eating was the lowest. Eating had become the object of a cult, but in fact it was but the preliminary to other, utterly contemptible motions. It occurred to him that he wanted to perform one of these too.”
― Elias Canetti, Auto-da-Fé

“Books have no life; they lack feeling maybe, and perhaps cannot feel pain, as animals and even plants feel -pain. But what proof have we that inorganic objects can feel no pain? Who knows if a book may not yearn for other books, its companions of many years, in some way strange to us and therefore never yet perceived? Every thinking being knows those moments in which the traditional frontier set by science between the organic and the inorganic, seems artificial and outdated, like every frontier drawn by men. Is not a secret antagonism to this division revealed in the very phrase 'dead matter' ? For the dead must once have been the living. Let us admit then of a substance that it is dead, have we not in so doing endowed it with an erstwhile life.”
― Elias Canetti, Auto-da-Fé

“Another woman catches sight of Fischerle's hump on the ground and runs screaming into the street: 'Murder! Murder!' She takes the hump for a corpse. Further details - she knows none. The murderer is very thin, a poor sap, how he came to do it, you shouldn't have thought it of him. Shot may be, someone suggests. Of course, everyone heard the shot. Three streets off, the shot had been heard. Not a bit of it, that was a motor tyre. No, it was a shot! The crowd won't be done out of its shot. A threatening attitude is assumed towards the doubters. Don't let him go. An accessory. Trying to confuse the trail! Out of the building comes more news. The woman's statements are revised. The thin man has been murdered. And the corpse on the floor? It's alive. It's the murderer, he had hidden himself. He was tring to creep away between the corpse's legs when he was caught. The more recent information is more detailed. The little man is a dwarf. What do you expect, a cripple! The blow was actually struck by another. A redheaded man. Ah, those redheads. The dwarf put him up to it. Lynch him! The woman gave the alarm. Cheers for the woman! She screamed and screamed. A Woman! Doesn't know what fear is. The murderer had threatened her. The redhead. It's always the Reds. He tore her collar off. No shooting. Of course not. What did he say? Someone must have invented the shot. The dwarf. Where is he? Inside. Rush the doors! No one else can get in. It's full up. What a murder! The woman had a plateful. Thrashed her every day. Half dead, she was. What did she marry a dwarf for? I wouldn't marry a dwarf. And you with a big man to yourself. All she could find. Too few men, that's what it is. The war! Young people to-day...Quite young he was too. Not eighteen. And a dwarf already. Clever! He was born that way. I know that. I've seen him. Went in there. Couldn't stand it. Too much blood. That's why he's so thin. An hour ago he was a great, fat man. Loss of blood, horrible! I tell you corpses swell. That's drowned ones. What do you know about corpses? Took all the jewellery off the corpse he did. Did it for the jewellery. Just outside the jewellery department it was. A pearl necklace. A baroness. He was her footman. No, the baron. Ten thousand pounds. Twenty thousand! A peer of the realm! Handsome too. Why did she send him? Should he have let his wife? It's for her to let him. Ah, men. She's alive though. He's the corpse. Fancy dying like that! A peer of the realm too Serve him right. The unemployed are starving. What's he want with a pearl necklace. String 'em up I say! Mean it too. The whole lot of them. And the Theresianum too. Burn it! Make a nice blaze.”
― Elias Canetti, Auto-da-Fé

“He panted for silence as others do for air.”
― Elias Canetti, Auto-da-Fé

“Gelecek; kendini nasıl atabilirdi acaba geleceğe? Şimdiki zaman, geçip gitmesine ses çıkarmadığı takdirde, artık Kien’e hiçbir zarar veremezdi. Ah, bir ortadan kaldırılabilseydi şu şimdiki zaman! Dünya üzerindeki tüm mutsuzluklar, yeterince gelecekte yaşayamamaktan kaynaklanıyordu. Bugün dayak yediği takdirde, yüz yıl sonra bunun ne önemi kalacaktı? Yapılması gereken, içinde yaşanılan zamanı geçip gitmeye bırakmak ve dayaktan ileri gelen şişleri görmezlikten gelmekti. Tüm acıların suçu, şimdiki zamanın sırtındaydı. Kien, geleceğin özlemini çekiyordu; çünkü geleceğe ulaştığında, yeryüzünde daha çok geçmiş bulunacaktı. Geçmiş iyiydi, kimseye bir zararı yoktu; Kien, geçmişte yirmi yıl süreyle istediği gibi ve mutlu yaşamıştı. Kim mutlu olabiliyordu ki şimdiki zamanda? Evet, duyularımız bulunmasaydı eğer, o zaman şimdiki zamana da dayanılabilirdi. O zaman anıların yardımıyla -demek ki yine de geçmişte- yaşanılabilirdi. Başlangıçta yalnızca söz vardı; ama var’dı; başka deyişle geçmiş sözden önce vardı. Kien, geçmişin bu öncelikli konumu karşısında saygıyla eğildi.”
― Elias Canetti, Auto-da-Fé

“In the beginning was the World, but it was, therefore the past existed before the World. He bowed before the supremacy of the past. The Catholic Church would have much to be said for it, but it allowed too little past. Two thousand years, a part of it only recorded, what does that matter compared to traditions of double or treble that space of years? A Catholic priest is surpassed by any Egyptian mummy. Because the mummy is dead, he may think himself superior. But the pyramids are no more dead than St. Peter's, on the contrary, they are much more alive, for they are older. These Romans think that they have all time in the pockets. They refuse to revere their ancestors. That is a blasphemy. God is the past... A time will come when all men will beat their senses into recollections, and all time into the past. A time will come when a single past will embrace all men when there will be nothing except the past, when everyone will have one faith– the past.”
― Elias Canetti, Auto-da-Fé

“What proof have we that inorganic objects can feel no pain? Who knows if a book may not yearn for other books, its companions of many years, in some way strange to us and therefore never yet perceived?”
― Elias Canetti, Auto-da-Fé

“I've nothing, am nothing, shall be nothing, and yet I take nothing.”
― Elias Canetti, Auto-da-Fé

“Slepilo je oružje protiv vremena i prostora; naš život je jedno jedino, ogromno slepilo, izuzev ono malo stvari koje saznajemo zahvalјujući našim sićušnim čulima – sićušnim kako po njihovoj suštini tako i po njihovom domašaju. Vladajući princip u kosmosu jeste slepilo. Ono omogućava naporedno postojanje stvari koje bi bile nemoguće kad bi videle jedna drugu.”
― Elias Canetti, Auto-da-Fé

“Ionako ne postoji oskudica u osrednjim glavama.”
― Elias Canetti, Auto-da-Fé

“Adına yaşama kavgası denen kavgayı, karnımızı doyurmak ve sevebilmek uğruna olduğu kadar, içimizdeki kitleyi öldürmek uğruna da veririz. Kimi koşullar altında bu kitle, bireyi bencillikten tümüyle uzak, dahası kendi yararlarına aykırı davranışlara dek götürebilir. "İnsanlık", bir kavram olarak bulunmazdan ve sulandırılmazdan çok önce, kitle olarak vardı. Bu kitle vahşi, coşkun, kocaman ve sımsıcak bir hayvan gibi hepimizin içinde, anasal etkilerin uzanabildiğinden çok, çok daha derinlerde bir anafor gibi kaynar. Kitle, yaşına karşın, dünyanın en genç hayvanı, en öz yaratığı, ereği ve geleceğidir. Onun üzerine hiçbir bilgimiz yok; hâlâ birer birey olduğumuz varsayımıyla yaşamaktayız. Kimi zaman kitle, gök gürültülerinden örülü bir fırtına, içinde her damlanın yaşadığı ve aynı şeyi istediği coşkun bir okyanus gibi saldırır üzerimize. Bu saldırının hemen ardından parçalanıp gitme alışkanlığını henüz koruduğu için, fırtına geçince yine biz olarak, zavallı ve bırakılmış şeytancıklar olarak kalırız. Bir zamanlar bu denli çok, bu denli büyük ve bu denli bütün olduğumuzu anılarımıza sığdıramayız bir türlü. İş bu noktaya vardığında, aklın boyunduruğunda yaşayanlar, sorunu "hastalık" sözcüğüyle açıklarlar, alçakgönüllülüğün bayraktarlığını yapmak isteyen ise, yanılgısının gerçeğe ne denli yaklaştığının bilincine varmaksızın, havayı "insanın içindeki hayvan" diyerek yumuşatır. Kitle ise bu arada yeni bir saldırı için hazırlanır. Bir gün gelecek, kitle artık parçalanmaz olacak; belki önce bir ülkede başlayacak bu gelişme, sonra orayı çıkış noktası yapıp çevresinde ne varsa yutarak ilerleyecek; ta ki artık Ben, Sen, O kavramları değil, ama yalnızca kitle varolacağından, kitlenin varlığına ilişkin tüm kuşkular ortadan kalkana dek.”
― Elias Canetti, Auto-da-Fé

“Romani su klinovi koje neki glumac što piše zabija u čvrstu ličnost svojih čitalaca. Što bolјe proračuna klin i otpor, to će ta ličnost ostati raspolućenija. Trebalo bi da država zabrani romane.”
― Elias Canetti, Auto-da-Fé

“Najbolјa definicija zavičaja jeste biblioteka.”
― Elias Canetti, Auto-da-Fé

“Ao empurrar o carro-lavatório para fora do quarto, Kien ouviu, num tom mais agudo do que nunca, a pergunta: "Já se levantou?". Que direito tinha essa mulher de berrar com tanta força, de manhã cedinho? Ele nem bem acordara! Ah, sim! Ele lhe prometera um livro. Nada, a não ser um romance, poderia servir. Mas só à base de romances nenhum espírito consegue evoluir. O prazer que tal leitura pode oferecer não compensa o desgaste do caráter. Com os romances aprendemos a nos meter nos sentimentos de toda espécie de gente. Daí, adquire-se um gosto pela mudança contínua. Facilmente, convertemo-nos em personagens que nos agradam. Todo e qualquer comportamento passa a ser compreensível. Docilmente, entregamo-nos a propósitos alheios, e assim perdemos de vista, por muito tempo, os nossos próprios. Romances são cunhas que o autor -- um comediante que escreve -- faz penetrar na personalidade compacta de seus leitores. Quanto mais exatos seus cálculos sobre o tamanho da cunha e a capacidade de resistência, maior a fenda na personalidade. Os romances deviam ser proibidos pelo Estado.”
― Elias Canetti, Auto-da-Fé

“The business friend did not recognize the sewerman, which was not surprising as the man's face was no more than a shining turd.”
― Elias Canetti, Auto-da-Fé

“She was crude, but loyal. He began to understand her even better than before. A pity she was so old; it was too late to try to make a human being of her.”
― Elias Canetti, Auto-da-Fé

“Since the death of his daughter, a consumptive, he had not thrashed a woman; he lived alone.”
― Elias Canetti, Auto-da-Fé

“Wenn man Bücher bei sich trug, waren Handgreiflichkeiten zu vermeiden.
Er trug immer Bücher bei sich.”
― Elias Canetti, Auto-da-Fé

“Denn schließlich ist man nicht verpflichtet auf die Dummheiten jedes Passanten einzugehen. Sich in reden zu verlieren ist die größte Gefahr die einen Gelehrten bedroht.”
― Elias Canetti, Auto-da-Fé

“Met de uiterste voorzichtigheid, maandenlang mogelijkheden tegen elkaar afwegend, bijna tot in het overdrevene toe langzaam, zo streng mogelijke maatstaven aanleggend, vatte hij zijn oordeel over een letter, een woord of een hele zin pas dan samen, wanneer hij van de onaantastbaarheid ervan zeker was.”
― Elias Canetti, Auto-da-Fé

“Von peinlichen Vorsicht, monatelang erwägend, langsam bis zum Überdruss, am strengsten gegen sich selbst, schloss er seine Meinung über einen Buchstaben, ein Wort oder einen ganzen Satz nur dann ab wenn er ihre Unangreifbarkeit sicher war.”
― Elias Canetti, Auto-da-Fé

“Wyobraził sobie ślady swoich palców na jej pyzatym, tłustym, lśniącym policzku. Ale z jakiej racji jeden policzek miałby być uprzywilejowany. Należałoby bić obiema rękami naraz. Jeśli nie utrafi, czerwone pręgi będą z jednej strony wyżej, z drugiej niżej. To byłoby brzydkie. Studium chińskiej sztuki wyrobiło w nim namiętne zamiłowanie do symetrii.”
― Elias Canetti, Auto-da-Fé

“Time is a continuum whence there is one escape only. By closing the eyes to it from time to time, it is possible to splinter it into those fragments with which alone we are familiar.”
― Elias Canetti, Auto-da-Fé

“The sorrows of the world are, because we live too little in the future.”
― Elias Canetti, Auto-da-Fé