The Messiah will come only when he is no longer necessary; he will come only on the day after his arrival; he will come, not on the last day, but on the very last day.
~ Franz Kafka

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There can be knowledge of the diabolical, but no belief in it, for more of the diabolical than there is does not exist.
~ Franz Kafka

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

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If a man has his eyes bound, you can encourage him as much as you like to stare through the bandage, but he’ll never see anything.
~ Franz Kafka

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Man cannot live without a permanent trust in something indestructible in himself, though both the indestructible element and the trust may remain permanently hidden from him.
~ Franz Kafka

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The true way is along a rope that is not spanned high in the air, but only just above the ground. It seems intended more to cause stumbling than to be walked upon.
~ Franz Kafka

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Self-control is something for which I do not strive. Self-control means wanting to be effective at some random point in the infinite radiations of my spiritual existence.
~ Franz Kafka

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I cannot make you understand. I cannot make anyone understand what is happening inside me. I cannot even explain it to myself.
~ Franz Kafka

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Believing in progress does not mean believing that any progress has yet been made. That is not the sort of belief that indicates real faith.
~ Franz Kafka

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The whole visible world is perhaps nothing more than than the rationalization of a man who wants to find peace for a moment.
~ Franz Kafka

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