Quotes from Elias Canetti

Literality in satire is the condemnation by quotation.

Her somewhat overly round head was wedged deep within her shoulders on a short body; it sat right upon it, as though there had never been such a thing as a neck, what a superfluous contraption.

If anyone was ever cognizant of the need and function of 'litanies', it was Kafka.

Any life is laughable if one knows it well enough. It is something serious and terrible if one knows it even better.

The sorrows of the world are, because we live too little in the future.

No child, not even the most ordinary, forgets or forgives a single one of the commands inflicted on it.

If gazelles had a religion and the lion was their god they could, in order to appease his appetite, voluntarily surrender one of their number to him. This is exactly what happens among men: religious sacrifice springs from a state of crowd fear. It serves to halt the pursuit and, for a while, stil the hunger of the hostile power.

Mereu, în constelaÈ›iile schimb?toare ale haitei, în dansurile È™i în tr?s?turile ei, individul se va afla la margine. Va fi în?untru È™i apoi iar??i la margine, la margine È™i iar??i în?untru. Dac? haita formeaz? un cerc în jurul focului, el va avea vecini în dreapta È™i în stânga, dar spatele-i este liber; spatele f?r? ap?rare este expus s?lb?ticiei.

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.

The remaining, less developed characters, were still either listening or laughing. They were divided between curiosity and satisfaction. They felt happy, but did not know it.

Napoleon is said to have had hopes of August 15th. There is an irresistible attraction in the idea of linking one's name with a regularly recurring date.

qualquer pessoa encontra, encarnadas nessa vida, as convicções que lhe são mais importantes lado a lado com aquelas que mais profundamente abomina.