Karl Kraus Quotes

It is better not to express what one means than to express what one does not mean.

You don't even live once.

The making of a journalist: no ideas and the ability to express them.

War, at first, is the hope that one will be better off; next, the expectation that the other fellow will be worse off; then, the satisfaction that he isn't any better off; and, finally, the surprise at everyone's being worse off.

A woman who cannot be ugly is not beautiful.

The devil is an optimist if he thinks he can make people worse than they are.

Der Aphorismus deckt sich nie mit der Wahrheit; er ist entweder eine halbe Wahrheit oder anderthalb.

How is the world ruled and led to war? Diplomats lie to journalists and believe these lies when they see them in print.

There are two kinds of writers. With the first, content and form belong together like soul and body; with the second, they match each other like body and clothes.

Es gibt Menschen, die es zeitlebens einem Bettler nachtragen, daß sie ihm nichts gegeben haben.

I have to do this, as long as it is at all possible; for if those who are obliged to look after commas had always made sure they were in the right place, then Shanghai would not be burning.

In Berlin, things are serious but not hopeless. In Vienna, they are hopeless but not serious.

To be sure, the dog is loyal. But why, on that account, should we take him as an example? He is loyal to man, not to other dogs.

Wer Meinungen von sich gibt, darf sich auf Widersprüchen nicht ertappen lassen. Wer Gedanken hat, denkt auch zwischen den Widersprüchen.

Nachdem er sich in der anarchistischen Partei unmöglich gemacht hatte, blieb ihm nichts mehr übrig, als ein nützliches Mitglied der bürgerlichen Gesellschaft zu werden und in die Sozialdemokratie einzutreten.