"One who obeys himself suffocates as surely as one who obeys others."

Elias Canetti Literature See all quotes by Elias Canetti →

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“Whenever the truth threatens, he hides behind a thought.”

“Nothing was better for you than humiliation, for there was nothing you felt more deeply.”

“His great holy books, which he does not know. They are so holy that he does not dare to open them.”

“If one has lived long enough, there is danger of succumbing to the word “God” merely because it was always there.”

“He sometimes tells himself that there is nothing more to be said, simply because he won’t get around to saying it.—How contemptible!”

“Say the most personal thing, say it, nothing else matters, don’t be ashamed, the generalities can be found in the newspaper.”

Resonant Thoughts

"But a leading nation, a nation upon which all depend not only in this country but around the world, cannot afford to be satisfied, to look back or to pause. On our strength and growth depend the stren…"

— John F. Kennedy

Politics

#leadership

"Mr. Lévesque was saying that part of my name was Elliott and since Elliot was an English name, it was perfectly understandable that I was for the No side, because, really, you see, I was not as much o…"

— Pierre Trudeau

Politics1919–2000

#friendship

"..he was especially interested in the naturally naked human being. He knowingly broke the traditional manner of the nude study and created for himself in his studio a circle of young women, whom he st…"

— Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

Art1880–1938

#knowledge

"The literary critic, or the critic of any other specific form of artistic expression, may detach himself from the world for as long as the work of art he is contemplating appears to do the same."

— Clive James

Literature1939–2019

#art