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The Zurau Aphorisms of Franz Kafka
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162 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1931
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About the author
Franz Kafka
2,535 books37.1k followersPrague-born writer Franz Kafka wrote in German, and his stories, such as "
The Metamorphosis
" (1916), and posthumously published novels, including
The Trial
(1925), concern troubled individuals in a nightmarishly impersonal world.
Jewish middle-class family of this major fiction writer of the 20th century spoke German. People consider his unique body of much incomplete writing, mainly published posthumously, among the most influential in European literature.
His stories include "The Metamorphosis" (1912) and " In the Penal Colony " (1914), whereas his posthumous novels include The Trial (1925), The Castle (1926) and Amerika (1927).
Despite first language, Kafka also spoke fluent Czech. Later, Kafka acquired some knowledge of the French language and culture from Flaubert, one of his favorite authors.
Kafka first studied chemistry at the Charles-Ferdinand University of Prague but after two weeks switched to law. This study offered a range of career possibilities, which pleased his father, and required a longer course of study that gave Kafka time to take classes in German studies and art history. At the university, he joined a student club, named Lese- und Redehalle der Deutschen Studenten, which organized literary events, readings, and other activities. In the end of his first year of studies, he met Max Brod, a close friend of his throughout his life, together with the journalist Felix Weltsch, who also studied law. Kafka obtained the degree of doctor of law on 18 June 1906 and performed an obligatory year of unpaid service as law clerk for the civil and criminal courts.
Writing of Kafka attracted little attention before his death. During his lifetime, he published only a few short stories and never finished any of his novels except the very short "The Metamorphosis." Kafka wrote to Max Brod, his friend and literary executor: "Dearest Max, my last request: Everything I leave behind me ... in the way of diaries, manuscripts, letters (my own and others'), sketches, and so on, [is] to be burned unread." Brod told Kafka that he intended not to honor these wishes, but Kafka, so knowing, nevertheless consequently gave these directions specifically to Brod, who, so reasoning, overrode these wishes. Brod in fact oversaw the publication of most of work of Kafka in his possession; these works quickly began to attract attention and high critical regard.
Max Brod encountered significant difficulty in compiling notebooks of Kafka into any chronological order as Kafka started writing in the middle of notebooks, from the last towards the first, et cetera.
Kafka wrote all his published works in German except several letters in Czech to Milena Jesenská.
Jewish middle-class family of this major fiction writer of the 20th century spoke German. People consider his unique body of much incomplete writing, mainly published posthumously, among the most influential in European literature.
His stories include "The Metamorphosis" (1912) and " In the Penal Colony " (1914), whereas his posthumous novels include The Trial (1925), The Castle (1926) and Amerika (1927).
Despite first language, Kafka also spoke fluent Czech. Later, Kafka acquired some knowledge of the French language and culture from Flaubert, one of his favorite authors.
Kafka first studied chemistry at the Charles-Ferdinand University of Prague but after two weeks switched to law. This study offered a range of career possibilities, which pleased his father, and required a longer course of study that gave Kafka time to take classes in German studies and art history. At the university, he joined a student club, named Lese- und Redehalle der Deutschen Studenten, which organized literary events, readings, and other activities. In the end of his first year of studies, he met Max Brod, a close friend of his throughout his life, together with the journalist Felix Weltsch, who also studied law. Kafka obtained the degree of doctor of law on 18 June 1906 and performed an obligatory year of unpaid service as law clerk for the civil and criminal courts.
Writing of Kafka attracted little attention before his death. During his lifetime, he published only a few short stories and never finished any of his novels except the very short "The Metamorphosis." Kafka wrote to Max Brod, his friend and literary executor: "Dearest Max, my last request: Everything I leave behind me ... in the way of diaries, manuscripts, letters (my own and others'), sketches, and so on, [is] to be burned unread." Brod told Kafka that he intended not to honor these wishes, but Kafka, so knowing, nevertheless consequently gave these directions specifically to Brod, who, so reasoning, overrode these wishes. Brod in fact oversaw the publication of most of work of Kafka in his possession; these works quickly began to attract attention and high critical regard.
Max Brod encountered significant difficulty in compiling notebooks of Kafka into any chronological order as Kafka started writing in the middle of notebooks, from the last towards the first, et cetera.
Kafka wrote all his published works in German except several letters in Czech to Milena Jesenská.
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June 9, 2020
A cage went in search for a bird
The crows like to insist a single crow is enough to destroy heaven. This is incontestably true, but it says nothing about heaven, because heaven is just another way of saying: the impossibility of crows.
During his stay in the house of his sister Ottla in the Bohemian village of Zürau from mid September 1917 to the end of April 1917, to recuperate following the onset of his tuberculosis, Kafka gave the impression having been close to happiness, and relief. In his first days there he wrote ‘O beautiful hour, masterful state, garden gone wild. You turn from the house and see, rushing toward you on the garden path, the goddess of happiness.’ The illness which had been diagnosed a month earlier freed him of his thoughts of marriage (and Felice Bauer), the office, Prague and his family. Later, writing to Milena Jesenská (Letters to Milena: Expanded and Revised in a New Translation), he would allude on this period in a letter of June, 2, 1920:
'Also consider the fact that perhaps the best time of your life, which you haven’t really discussed with anyone yet, was those eight months spent in a village about two years ago, when you felt that you had come to terms with everything, that you were free of everything except what was unquestionably locked within yourself, free of letters, the five-year-old Berlin correspondence, protected by your illness, requiring very little change, having merely to redraw the old narrow outlines of your character a little more firmly (after all, underneath the grey hair, your face has hardly changed since you were six years old).’
And so, for the meantime given dispensation by the illness from the strains of ordinary life, Kafka found the inner freedom to write the 109 Zürau ‘aphorisms’, fragments of thoughts, some like parables, some rather loose abstract images or statements, some pithy narrations, some dialogues - which he meticulously noted down and numbered, one per slip of onionskin paper - after his death published by Max Brod as ‘Reflections on Sin, Suffering, Hope and the True Way’. The edition I read also contained the writings under the title of "He" - Notes from the Year 1920, a second sequence of 41 aphorisms, which originally appeared as entries in Kafka’s diary from January 6 to February 29, 1920.
He does not want consolation, yet not because he does not want it – who does not want it? – but because to seek for consolation would mean to devote his whole life to the task, to live perpetually on the very frontiers of his existence, almost outside it, barely knowing for whom he was seeking consolation, and consequently not even capable of finding effective consolation, effective, not real consolation, for real consolation does not exist.
Alluringly enigmatic, these lines feel like micro meditations - on the nature of heaven and hell, vice and virtue, hope, patience, Paradise, love, good and evil, suffering, guilt, sin and punishment - some reminiscence of ideas recurring in other work (‘We are sinful, not only because we have eaten of the Tree of Knowledge, but also because we have not eaten from the Tree of Life. The condition in which we find ourselves is sinful, guilt or no guilt’ – which reminded me of The Judgement). Rather than striking me as mere witty or lucid statements (many I admit obscure to me), some of these thought fragments tickled and teased my mind, moved me or made me chuckle, while others perplexed me. While is said that the best aphorisms in the genre point one to a truth just out of range (according to Karl Kraus, ‘An aphorism never coincides with the truth: it is either a half-truth or one-and-a-half truths’) Kafka at once is more generous and more frugal in this respect, so stretching the form a little further,. He presents an inkling of such truth or insight, lets it briefly flash before your eyes like a lightning illuminating in a dark wood, you see it there, almost like you can touch it, but it stays out of reach, ungraspable, an experience leaving a trace of luminosity in your mind that cannot be captured, replicated or communicated - like having been blinded by the light when leaving Plato’s cave one cannot transpose to others upon return - unfurling a rhapsody of visions in the mind of which the aural perception cannot be visually represented into musical notation or even partly echoed by humming even if the occurrence continues to resonate. In this sense Kafka’s aphorisms – feel free to laugh - semble love to me - fragile, mysterious, incomprehensible, one can recognise it by experience but is unable to explain it (can one love what one cannot understand? Isn’t that what characterises love, embracing and being fascinated by what cannot be known or understood in the other? ‘In love, everything is both true and false; it's the one subject on which it's impossible to say anything absurd’ that other aphorist, Chamfort, said in the eighteenth century).
Several aphorisms consider the path that is life - it is a bendy one, one that has tripwires, it is
‘Like a path in autumn: no sooner is it cleared than it is once again littered with fallen leaves.
From a certain point on, there is no more turning back. That is the point that must be reached.
The road is endless, there are no shortcuts and no detours, and yet everyone brings to it his own childish haste. "You must walk this ell of ground, too, you won’t be spared it".
There is a destination but no way there; what we refer to as way is hesitation’.
Philosophical, mysterious, thought-provoking and often holding a paradoxical strength, condensing and widening the mind in one movement, some of these aphorisms are of a great poetical expressiveness and power. According to Roberto Calasso (in his K.), it would be pointless to seek, among twentieth-century collections of aphorisms, another as intense and enigmatic as Kafka’s. It is beyond my powers to analyse them, but some made me think, and some made me dream. Maybe this is why we read?
Some deny the existence of misery by pointing to the sun; he denies the existence of the sun by pointing to misery.
The crows like to insist a single crow is enough to destroy heaven. This is incontestably true, but it says nothing about heaven, because heaven is just another way of saying: the impossibility of crows.
During his stay in the house of his sister Ottla in the Bohemian village of Zürau from mid September 1917 to the end of April 1917, to recuperate following the onset of his tuberculosis, Kafka gave the impression having been close to happiness, and relief. In his first days there he wrote ‘O beautiful hour, masterful state, garden gone wild. You turn from the house and see, rushing toward you on the garden path, the goddess of happiness.’ The illness which had been diagnosed a month earlier freed him of his thoughts of marriage (and Felice Bauer), the office, Prague and his family. Later, writing to Milena Jesenská (Letters to Milena: Expanded and Revised in a New Translation), he would allude on this period in a letter of June, 2, 1920:
'Also consider the fact that perhaps the best time of your life, which you haven’t really discussed with anyone yet, was those eight months spent in a village about two years ago, when you felt that you had come to terms with everything, that you were free of everything except what was unquestionably locked within yourself, free of letters, the five-year-old Berlin correspondence, protected by your illness, requiring very little change, having merely to redraw the old narrow outlines of your character a little more firmly (after all, underneath the grey hair, your face has hardly changed since you were six years old).’
And so, for the meantime given dispensation by the illness from the strains of ordinary life, Kafka found the inner freedom to write the 109 Zürau ‘aphorisms’, fragments of thoughts, some like parables, some rather loose abstract images or statements, some pithy narrations, some dialogues - which he meticulously noted down and numbered, one per slip of onionskin paper - after his death published by Max Brod as ‘Reflections on Sin, Suffering, Hope and the True Way’. The edition I read also contained the writings under the title of "He" - Notes from the Year 1920, a second sequence of 41 aphorisms, which originally appeared as entries in Kafka’s diary from January 6 to February 29, 1920.
He does not want consolation, yet not because he does not want it – who does not want it? – but because to seek for consolation would mean to devote his whole life to the task, to live perpetually on the very frontiers of his existence, almost outside it, barely knowing for whom he was seeking consolation, and consequently not even capable of finding effective consolation, effective, not real consolation, for real consolation does not exist.
Alluringly enigmatic, these lines feel like micro meditations - on the nature of heaven and hell, vice and virtue, hope, patience, Paradise, love, good and evil, suffering, guilt, sin and punishment - some reminiscence of ideas recurring in other work (‘We are sinful, not only because we have eaten of the Tree of Knowledge, but also because we have not eaten from the Tree of Life. The condition in which we find ourselves is sinful, guilt or no guilt’ – which reminded me of The Judgement). Rather than striking me as mere witty or lucid statements (many I admit obscure to me), some of these thought fragments tickled and teased my mind, moved me or made me chuckle, while others perplexed me. While is said that the best aphorisms in the genre point one to a truth just out of range (according to Karl Kraus, ‘An aphorism never coincides with the truth: it is either a half-truth or one-and-a-half truths’) Kafka at once is more generous and more frugal in this respect, so stretching the form a little further,. He presents an inkling of such truth or insight, lets it briefly flash before your eyes like a lightning illuminating in a dark wood, you see it there, almost like you can touch it, but it stays out of reach, ungraspable, an experience leaving a trace of luminosity in your mind that cannot be captured, replicated or communicated - like having been blinded by the light when leaving Plato’s cave one cannot transpose to others upon return - unfurling a rhapsody of visions in the mind of which the aural perception cannot be visually represented into musical notation or even partly echoed by humming even if the occurrence continues to resonate. In this sense Kafka’s aphorisms – feel free to laugh - semble love to me - fragile, mysterious, incomprehensible, one can recognise it by experience but is unable to explain it (can one love what one cannot understand? Isn’t that what characterises love, embracing and being fascinated by what cannot be known or understood in the other? ‘In love, everything is both true and false; it's the one subject on which it's impossible to say anything absurd’ that other aphorist, Chamfort, said in the eighteenth century).
Several aphorisms consider the path that is life - it is a bendy one, one that has tripwires, it is
‘Like a path in autumn: no sooner is it cleared than it is once again littered with fallen leaves.
From a certain point on, there is no more turning back. That is the point that must be reached.
The road is endless, there are no shortcuts and no detours, and yet everyone brings to it his own childish haste. "You must walk this ell of ground, too, you won’t be spared it".
There is a destination but no way there; what we refer to as way is hesitation’.
Philosophical, mysterious, thought-provoking and often holding a paradoxical strength, condensing and widening the mind in one movement, some of these aphorisms are of a great poetical expressiveness and power. According to Roberto Calasso (in his K.), it would be pointless to seek, among twentieth-century collections of aphorisms, another as intense and enigmatic as Kafka’s. It is beyond my powers to analyse them, but some made me think, and some made me dream. Maybe this is why we read?
Some deny the existence of misery by pointing to the sun; he denies the existence of the sun by pointing to misery.
November 2, 2022
"Cuando sea eterno, ¿cómo seré al día siguiente?"
Mi pasión por Franz Kafka sigue tan vigente como siempre y nunca cejará.
Continúo releyendo constantemente su obra todos los años y lo encuentro cada vez más sabio.
Con su vida tan efímera que terminó en la eternidad, me dejo llevar por la extraña fuerza de estos aforismos tan suyos, tan únicos y aunque se repitan en los distintos libros que poseo de él, siempre vuelven a alojarse en mi mente y mi corazón.
Afortunadamente, me he topado con algunos que no recordaba y que son tan bellos, tan geniales. Me alegró reencontrarme con ellos.
El libro se compone de tres partes, la primera que consta de los aforismos que escribió y que están recogidos y ordenados a partir de hojas sueltas y conocido como "legajo de aforismos", que pasara a integrar sus "Obras Completas"; luego podemos leer en un segundo bloque aforismos dispersos que se recopilan a través de los años, desde su juventud en 1916 hasta el año de su muerte, en 1924 y una tercera parte, extraída de sus "Diarios" en donde todos los aforismos se remiten a la persona gramatical "Él" y escritos en los primeros meses de 1920.
Es de destacar la constante atención que pone Kafka en la figura del mal y cómo lo entendía él filosóficamente. En tantos otros se revela ese costado rabínico que marcaba su condición judía y que en cierta forma lo dominó en el plano familiar y social.
Comparto aquí algunos de los aforismos que no son los más conocidos y que no recordaba, pero que siguen reafirmando la talla enorme de este enorme escritor:
“A partir de cierto punto no hay retorno. Ese es el punto que hay que alcanzar.”
“No todos pueden ver la verdad, pero pueden serla.”
“Del verdadero rival te llega un valor sin límites.”
“Hay una meta pero no hay camino. Lo que llamamos camino es vacilación.”
“Al mal no se le puede pagar a plazos, y sin embargo lo intentamos constantemente.”
"Una vez escogido el mal, éste no pretende más que creamos en él."
"No dejes que el mal te haga creer que puedes ocultarle secretos."
"Una fe como la hoja de la guillotina; así de pesada, así de ligera."
"Dos posibilidades: hacerse infinitamente pequeño o serlo. Lo primero es perfección, es decir, pasividad; lo segundo, inicio, es decir, acción."
“El mal es lo que distrae.”
"Él cree que no puede presenciar milagros: de día las estrellas no se ven."
"El ocio es el padre de todos los vicios y el premio a todas las virtudes."
"Nuestra salvación es la muerte, pero no esta."
Mi pasión por Franz Kafka sigue tan vigente como siempre y nunca cejará.
Continúo releyendo constantemente su obra todos los años y lo encuentro cada vez más sabio.
Con su vida tan efímera que terminó en la eternidad, me dejo llevar por la extraña fuerza de estos aforismos tan suyos, tan únicos y aunque se repitan en los distintos libros que poseo de él, siempre vuelven a alojarse en mi mente y mi corazón.
Afortunadamente, me he topado con algunos que no recordaba y que son tan bellos, tan geniales. Me alegró reencontrarme con ellos.
El libro se compone de tres partes, la primera que consta de los aforismos que escribió y que están recogidos y ordenados a partir de hojas sueltas y conocido como "legajo de aforismos", que pasara a integrar sus "Obras Completas"; luego podemos leer en un segundo bloque aforismos dispersos que se recopilan a través de los años, desde su juventud en 1916 hasta el año de su muerte, en 1924 y una tercera parte, extraída de sus "Diarios" en donde todos los aforismos se remiten a la persona gramatical "Él" y escritos en los primeros meses de 1920.
Es de destacar la constante atención que pone Kafka en la figura del mal y cómo lo entendía él filosóficamente. En tantos otros se revela ese costado rabínico que marcaba su condición judía y que en cierta forma lo dominó en el plano familiar y social.
Comparto aquí algunos de los aforismos que no son los más conocidos y que no recordaba, pero que siguen reafirmando la talla enorme de este enorme escritor:
“A partir de cierto punto no hay retorno. Ese es el punto que hay que alcanzar.”
“No todos pueden ver la verdad, pero pueden serla.”
“Del verdadero rival te llega un valor sin límites.”
“Hay una meta pero no hay camino. Lo que llamamos camino es vacilación.”
“Al mal no se le puede pagar a plazos, y sin embargo lo intentamos constantemente.”
"Una vez escogido el mal, éste no pretende más que creamos en él."
"No dejes que el mal te haga creer que puedes ocultarle secretos."
"Una fe como la hoja de la guillotina; así de pesada, así de ligera."
"Dos posibilidades: hacerse infinitamente pequeño o serlo. Lo primero es perfección, es decir, pasividad; lo segundo, inicio, es decir, acción."
“El mal es lo que distrae.”
"Él cree que no puede presenciar milagros: de día las estrellas no se ven."
"El ocio es el padre de todos los vicios y el premio a todas las virtudes."
"Nuestra salvación es la muerte, pero no esta."
September 2, 2013
La verdad nunca entiendo cuando la gente habla de los "libros de cabecera". No suelo releer mucho, a menos de que pasen unos años y me den ganas de volver a un libro en particular. Los libros que tengo en la cabecera de mi cama son, los que mueroporleeryamismoylosquierocercademientodomomento. O libros de poesía que me gusta tener cerca para en cualquier momento repasar alguna parte que me encanta, o consolarme con algunas releídas cuando lo necesito.
Pero este libro es un buen ejemplo de libro de cabecera. Aforismos escritos por Kafka cuando estaba desconectado del mundo y se sentía realmente libre. Lejos del trabajo, lejos de las presiones, lejos de las mujeres. En fin, amo a Kafka, y aqui, en donde te sientes cerca de entender su manera de funcionar, en cuanto a espiritualidad, bien o mal, decisiones, en la vida, me hace quererlo aún más. Muy recomendable para fans y no fans de este maravilloso escritor.
Los dejo con uno de mis favoritos,
"Una jaula fue en busca de un ave."
y esta maravilla:
"Ponte a prueba con la humanidad. Al que duda lo hace dudar, al creyente lo hace creer."
Pero este libro es un buen ejemplo de libro de cabecera. Aforismos escritos por Kafka cuando estaba desconectado del mundo y se sentía realmente libre. Lejos del trabajo, lejos de las presiones, lejos de las mujeres. En fin, amo a Kafka, y aqui, en donde te sientes cerca de entender su manera de funcionar, en cuanto a espiritualidad, bien o mal, decisiones, en la vida, me hace quererlo aún más. Muy recomendable para fans y no fans de este maravilloso escritor.
Los dejo con uno de mis favoritos,
"Una jaula fue en busca de un ave."
y esta maravilla:
"Ponte a prueba con la humanidad. Al que duda lo hace dudar, al creyente lo hace creer."
December 31, 2022
4.5 ⭐
Warning: Aphorisms may cause aneurysms
Ok… Wow! I think I just got Kafka’d and I kinda liked it…?
Not gonna lie, I was only about 10-15 Aphorisms in when I started to feel anxious and irritable. I was finding that I could definitely take away meaning from each entry but I wasn’t sure if it was THE meaning, y’know? Anyway, I decided I couldn’t go on for another 100-odd pages of this, racking my brain for the definitive definition of each and every aphorism and decided to just let it go and interpret within the parameters of my own knowledge and experience. Bulls-eye! Loved every second of it from then on.
Interpret but don’t attempt to define Kafka’s message would be my advice if you find yourself struggling early days as I was.
I had a very similar, but slightly less confounding, experience recently with Shakespeare’s sonnets in which there are lines that, for whatever reason (archaic language, awkward syntax or less than straightforward analogy), can be quite ambiguous, lending themselves to broad interpretation. When we interpret something that is less than clear to us, we’re running it through the filter of our life experience and level of knowledge at that exact point in time and making deductions in order to, hopefully, come to a pretty accurate conclusion.
In the case of the Sonnets and indeed Kafka’s Aphorisms this gives them an inherently limitless potential for re-readability as we grow and our very subjective interpretation inevitably evolves. Someone with a greater literary facility, for example having read other works of Kafka or perhaps, specifically, with a little knowledge of the bible may very well utilise more well-informed powers of deduction in order to interpret them in a much more “accurate”, Kafkaesque manner. We cannot reason beyond our means but the many differing experiences of those who read these would make for some fascinating conversation!
I won’t attempt to give a nutshell synopsis of this because I simply can’t; the list of topics are to numerous and varied; too deeply probed and expertly dissected for a lazy abbreviated condensation to do it justice. I will use one of the most famous aphorisms to illustrate my point above:
”A cage went in search of a bird.”
Ok, my mind goes: What does that mean? Why would a cage go looking for a bird? Because it’s empty. We’re obviously talking on a very human level here so my first thought is we’re all empty cages looking for fulfilment from another. A lover; a soulmate. I toyed with this a little bit as though stumbling through a maze, occasionally coming to a logical dead end, finding my way out, getting snagged again. Does that mean when we find that beautiful bird that we are making ourselves whole at their expense? By trapping them in our cage? Wait, are we all cages looking for a “bird”? If we’re all cages, doesn’t that make the whole idea of that life-fulfilling bird just an illusion. Do we just deepen our imprisonment by attaching ourselves to a soulmate? Anyway, as you can see, I’m no philosopher but it’s fun to just let your thoughts (as prone to idiocy as they may be) go rogue for a bit.
THEN, I read more of the aphorisms and the theme of the Original Sin became quite prominent. When I was reminded of this aphorism, I found a silly connection (a ridiculous stretch) between the two. The cage is “evil” (in the form of the serpent) and it is in search of innocents to corrupt; enter Adam and Eve (humanity). Adam and Eve are manipulated into eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the knowledge they receive would entrap (cage) mankind forever, giving them the ability to understand and conjure negative and destructive concepts of which, in their freedom and innocence, Adam and Eve were never aware. As Kafka says, ”No one can be satisfied with understanding alone but must make an effort to act in accordance with it.” We are trapped in an endless cycle of trying to live within the bounds of what we think we know to be good and evil.
I’m not trying to say I think that’s what Kafka was getting at, that’s absurd; I’m just trying to illustrate how lengthy and tangential a series of streams-of-thought can become based off of just one 8-word aphorism! I visited a forum after I’d finished the book and found dozens of interpretations (much more logical and compelling than my own) on this very aphorism. It goes without saying, this goes straight to the re-read shelf.
Oh, I almost forgot to mention, probably my favourite part of the entire book which was the inclusion of “He”: Notes from the Year 1920 at the end of this edition. I’m unsure if that’s a common inclusion but if you can get a copy with that little perk, I’d highly recommend doing so!
”He could have resigned himself to a prison. To end as a prisoner—that could be a life’s ambition. But it was a barred cage that he was in. Calmly and insolently, as if at home, the din of the world streamed out and in through the bars, the prisoner was really free, he could take part in everything, nothing that went on outside escaped him, he could simply have left the cage, the bars were yards apart, he was not even a prisoner.”
Once again, thank you to the lovely Ilse who is INCAPABLE of putting a foot wrong when it comes to recommendations! :)
Warning: Aphorisms may cause aneurysms
Ok… Wow! I think I just got Kafka’d and I kinda liked it…?
Not gonna lie, I was only about 10-15 Aphorisms in when I started to feel anxious and irritable. I was finding that I could definitely take away meaning from each entry but I wasn’t sure if it was THE meaning, y’know? Anyway, I decided I couldn’t go on for another 100-odd pages of this, racking my brain for the definitive definition of each and every aphorism and decided to just let it go and interpret within the parameters of my own knowledge and experience. Bulls-eye! Loved every second of it from then on.
Interpret but don’t attempt to define Kafka’s message would be my advice if you find yourself struggling early days as I was.
I had a very similar, but slightly less confounding, experience recently with Shakespeare’s sonnets in which there are lines that, for whatever reason (archaic language, awkward syntax or less than straightforward analogy), can be quite ambiguous, lending themselves to broad interpretation. When we interpret something that is less than clear to us, we’re running it through the filter of our life experience and level of knowledge at that exact point in time and making deductions in order to, hopefully, come to a pretty accurate conclusion.
In the case of the Sonnets and indeed Kafka’s Aphorisms this gives them an inherently limitless potential for re-readability as we grow and our very subjective interpretation inevitably evolves. Someone with a greater literary facility, for example having read other works of Kafka or perhaps, specifically, with a little knowledge of the bible may very well utilise more well-informed powers of deduction in order to interpret them in a much more “accurate”, Kafkaesque manner. We cannot reason beyond our means but the many differing experiences of those who read these would make for some fascinating conversation!
I won’t attempt to give a nutshell synopsis of this because I simply can’t; the list of topics are to numerous and varied; too deeply probed and expertly dissected for a lazy abbreviated condensation to do it justice. I will use one of the most famous aphorisms to illustrate my point above:
”A cage went in search of a bird.”
Ok, my mind goes: What does that mean? Why would a cage go looking for a bird? Because it’s empty. We’re obviously talking on a very human level here so my first thought is we’re all empty cages looking for fulfilment from another. A lover; a soulmate. I toyed with this a little bit as though stumbling through a maze, occasionally coming to a logical dead end, finding my way out, getting snagged again. Does that mean when we find that beautiful bird that we are making ourselves whole at their expense? By trapping them in our cage? Wait, are we all cages looking for a “bird”? If we’re all cages, doesn’t that make the whole idea of that life-fulfilling bird just an illusion. Do we just deepen our imprisonment by attaching ourselves to a soulmate? Anyway, as you can see, I’m no philosopher but it’s fun to just let your thoughts (as prone to idiocy as they may be) go rogue for a bit.
THEN, I read more of the aphorisms and the theme of the Original Sin became quite prominent. When I was reminded of this aphorism, I found a silly connection (a ridiculous stretch) between the two. The cage is “evil” (in the form of the serpent) and it is in search of innocents to corrupt; enter Adam and Eve (humanity). Adam and Eve are manipulated into eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the knowledge they receive would entrap (cage) mankind forever, giving them the ability to understand and conjure negative and destructive concepts of which, in their freedom and innocence, Adam and Eve were never aware. As Kafka says, ”No one can be satisfied with understanding alone but must make an effort to act in accordance with it.” We are trapped in an endless cycle of trying to live within the bounds of what we think we know to be good and evil.
I’m not trying to say I think that’s what Kafka was getting at, that’s absurd; I’m just trying to illustrate how lengthy and tangential a series of streams-of-thought can become based off of just one 8-word aphorism! I visited a forum after I’d finished the book and found dozens of interpretations (much more logical and compelling than my own) on this very aphorism. It goes without saying, this goes straight to the re-read shelf.
Oh, I almost forgot to mention, probably my favourite part of the entire book which was the inclusion of “He”: Notes from the Year 1920 at the end of this edition. I’m unsure if that’s a common inclusion but if you can get a copy with that little perk, I’d highly recommend doing so!
”He could have resigned himself to a prison. To end as a prisoner—that could be a life’s ambition. But it was a barred cage that he was in. Calmly and insolently, as if at home, the din of the world streamed out and in through the bars, the prisoner was really free, he could take part in everything, nothing that went on outside escaped him, he could simply have left the cage, the bars were yards apart, he was not even a prisoner.”
Once again, thank you to the lovely Ilse who is INCAPABLE of putting a foot wrong when it comes to recommendations! :)
June 23, 2024
Some of these short philosophical texts seem easy to understand and interpret, others are simply puzzling at first sight (especially because I have not read any biographies of Kafka yet), but one thing is clear - all of them were written by the same person who wrote 'The Trial', 'In the Penal Colony', 'The Great Wall of China', 'The Burrow' and other stories. They are a part of the surreal world created by the author for himself.
These are the great writer's reflections on the true way in life, the relativity of good and evil, the reconing and 'the hereafter'. The sentences are written in simple words but there are inexhaustible meanings full of enigmas and paradoxes behind them that speak to both our conscious and subconscious.
'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 along.'
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'A cage went in search of a bird.'
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'Leopards break into the temple and drink to the dregs what is in the sacrificial pitchers; this is repeated over and over again; finally it can be calculated in advance, and it becomes a part of the
ceremony.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'In a certain sense the Good is comfortless.'
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'His exhaustion is that of the gladiator after the fight, his work was the whitewashing of one corner in a clerk s office.'
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'It is only our conception of time that makes us call the Last Judgment by this name. It is, in fact, a kind of martial law.'
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
'It s only our notion of time that allows us to speak of the Last Judgment, in fact it's a Court Martial.'
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'This feeling: Here I shall not anchor and instantly to feel the billowing, supporting swell around one! *A veering round. Peering, timid, hopeful, the answer prowls round the question, desperately
looking into its impenetrable face, following it along the most senseless paths, that is, alo ng the paths leading as far as possible away from the answer.'
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'We were created to live in Paradise, and Paradise was designed to serve us. Our designation has been changed; we are not told whether this has happened to Paradise as well.'
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'A belief like a guillotine - as heavy, as light.'
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'Two tasks of the beginning of life: to keep reducing your circle, and to keep making sure you re not hiding somewhere out side it.'
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'Sin always comes openly and can at once be grasped by means of the senses. It walks on its roots and does not have to be torn out.'
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'There is no need for you to leave the house. Stay at your table and l isten. Don t even listen, just wait. Don't even wait, be completely quiet and alone. The world will offer itself to you to be
unmasked; it can t do otherwise; in raptures it will writhe before you.
These are the great writer's reflections on the true way in life, the relativity of good and evil, the reconing and 'the hereafter'. The sentences are written in simple words but there are inexhaustible meanings full of enigmas and paradoxes behind them that speak to both our conscious and subconscious.
'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 along.'
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'A cage went in search of a bird.'
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'Leopards break into the temple and drink to the dregs what is in the sacrificial pitchers; this is repeated over and over again; finally it can be calculated in advance, and it becomes a part of the
ceremony.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'In a certain sense the Good is comfortless.'
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'His exhaustion is that of the gladiator after the fight, his work was the whitewashing of one corner in a clerk s office.'
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'It is only our conception of time that makes us call the Last Judgment by this name. It is, in fact, a kind of martial law.'
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
'It s only our notion of time that allows us to speak of the Last Judgment, in fact it's a Court Martial.'
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'This feeling: Here I shall not anchor and instantly to feel the billowing, supporting swell around one! *A veering round. Peering, timid, hopeful, the answer prowls round the question, desperately
looking into its impenetrable face, following it along the most senseless paths, that is, alo ng the paths leading as far as possible away from the answer.'
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'We were created to live in Paradise, and Paradise was designed to serve us. Our designation has been changed; we are not told whether this has happened to Paradise as well.'
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'A belief like a guillotine - as heavy, as light.'
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'Two tasks of the beginning of life: to keep reducing your circle, and to keep making sure you re not hiding somewhere out side it.'
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'Sin always comes openly and can at once be grasped by means of the senses. It walks on its roots and does not have to be torn out.'
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'There is no need for you to leave the house. Stay at your table and l isten. Don t even listen, just wait. Don't even wait, be completely quiet and alone. The world will offer itself to you to be
unmasked; it can t do otherwise; in raptures it will writhe before you.
June 23, 2019
دوستانِ گرانقدر، برایِ خریدِ این کتاب به هیچ عنوان کاری به شهرتِ «کافکا» نداشته باشید.. این کتاب یکسری از جملاتی بوده که مترجم آنها را از دستنوشته ها انتخاب کرده است... جملات سرشار از موهومات و خزعبلاتِ بی فایده بوده و علاوه بر آن، ترجمۀ کتاب نیز خوب نمیباشد... این کتاب هیچ نکتۀ آموزنده ای برایِ شما دوستانِ خردگرا، ندارد... اصلاً جملاتِ این کتاب معنا و مفهومی ندارد، مثلِ این است که کسی دارویی گیج کننده خورده و چیزهایی میگوید که بی سر و ته و ابلهانه میباشد و شما از آنها سر در نمی آورید
در زیر به انتخاب جملاتی را که خالی از موهوماتی همچون: گناه، تقدیرِ الهی و بهشت و جهنم است را برایتان در زیر مینویسم
---------------------------------------------
از حریفِ راستین، شهامتی بی اندازه به درونِ تو جاری میشود
******************
چگونه میتوان از دنیا لذت برد، مگر با گریختن از آن
******************
مقصدی وجود دارد، اما راهی به سویِ آن نیست... آنچه ما آنرا راه مینامیم، تردید است
******************
منفی را به ما می آموزند ... مثبت از پیش درونِ ماست
---------------------------------------------
امیدوارم این ریویو، در جهتِ آشنایی با این کتاب، کافی و مفید بوده باشه
«پیروز باشید و ایرانی»
در زیر به انتخاب جملاتی را که خالی از موهوماتی همچون: گناه، تقدیرِ الهی و بهشت و جهنم است را برایتان در زیر مینویسم
---------------------------------------------
از حریفِ راستین، شهامتی بی اندازه به درونِ تو جاری میشود
******************
چگونه میتوان از دنیا لذت برد، مگر با گریختن از آن
******************
مقصدی وجود دارد، اما راهی به سویِ آن نیست... آنچه ما آنرا راه مینامیم، تردید است
******************
منفی را به ما می آموزند ... مثبت از پیش درونِ ماست
---------------------------------------------
امیدوارم این ریویو، در جهتِ آشنایی با این کتاب، کافی و مفید بوده باشه
«پیروز باشید و ایرانی»
January 22, 2021
YouTube kitap kanalımda Kafka kitaplarını daha bilinçli okuyabilmeniz için hazırladığım okuma rehberi videomu izleyebilirsiniz:
https://youtu.be/VC6JxCLzwNI
Kafka'nın Ruh Mutfağı
Dava, Dönüşüm ve Şato kitaplarından sonra okuduğum 4. Kafka eseri oldu.
Aslında Kafka bu elyazmalarına ad vermemiş, kitaplarının yayınlanmasını istememiş vs... Yahu bu Kafka da ne pimpirikli adammış diyenleri duyar gibiyim. O zaman biraz Kafka'dan bahsetmek gerek bu aşamada.
Kafka'nın insanları mekanlarla insansılaşır, mekanları da insanlarla mekanlaşır diyebiliriz. Bu yüzden kafesin biri, bir kuş aramaya çıkar. Elbette bunlar bir metafordur fakat metafor olmayadabilir. Kafes insana baskı kuran bir devlet, kadına baskı kuran bir ataerkillik, kendi özgürlüğünü bulmaya çalışan bireylerin başına inen bir totaliter devlet olabilir!
Bir ortamda Kafka ile ilgili konuşuyorsak kesin yargılardan bahsedemeyiz. Çünkü kendisinin de dediği gibi : "Hedef var, ama yol yok; yol dediğimiz şey tereddütten ibaret." Evet, tam olarak bir tereddüt, şüphe, bürokratik kaos ve hedefe ne kadar yakınlaşırsan o kadar uzaklaşma atomlarının Kafka tepkimesiyle ortaya bulanık bir umut denklemi çıkarmasından bahsedebiliriz.
Ne olursa olsun, Kafka gerek Aforizmalar'da gerekse de diğer kitaplarında 1. Dünya Savaşı'ndan yorgun çıkmış bir Avrupa'nın kendi oturduğu tahtında okuyabileceği ve sorgulaması gerektiği karanlık bir tabloyu yansıtmak istedi. Bu savaşın yarattığı ortamdaki yalnızlığı, bireysizleşmeyi olabildiğince süssüz, yalın bir şekilde anlatmak istedi. Çünkü savaş da bir bakıma süssüzdür, makineli tüfekler sadece öldürmeye odaklanmıştır.
Aforizmalar'da bahsedilen temalar çoğunlukla kayıtsızlık, kısıtlanma, özgürlük sorgulamasıyla birlikte pozitif ve negatif özgürlük kavramları, bireysizleşme, soyutlanma, olay örgüsü bulanıklığı, Kafka'nın hedef ve süreç konusundaki düşünceleri, Tanrı inancı konusundaki cereyanlarından oluşur.
Kafka bir ruh mutfağıdır, baba figürü bu mutfağa yiyecek ihtiyacını sağlar. Kafka'nın ruhu, babasından beslenir. Çünkü Kafka'nın satırları babasıyla arasındaki soyutlanmadan kendisine doygunluk bulur.
Milena'ya Mektuplar bu mutfağın annesidir, ruhlarda sevgi eksikliği vardır, sevgi dağınıktır ve amaçtan sürekli sapar. Şato'daki sevgi buna en büyük örnektir, Şato'ya ulaşmak yerine kendisini amaçtan saptıran bir aşk vardır.
Dava bu mutfağın zeminidir, Aforizmalar'da da bu zeminin kayganlığından bahseder, adımlar geriye doğru kayma eğilimi içerir. Dava, Kafka'nın kileri gibidir, yiyeceklerini oradan alır, bütün kitaplarına bu ruh mutfağında hazırladığı cümle yemeklerinden dağıtır.
Şato bu mutfağın dış görünümüdür. Her zaman Kafka'nın ulaşma istenci içerisinde sunduğu bir hologramdan ibarettir, asıl olay içeride saklıdır, o ruh mutfağındadır fakat hiçbir zaman anlayamayız. Aynı annemizin yaptığı yemeklerin biz yaptığımızda nasıl o kadar güzel olmadıklarını anlayamamamız gibi, Kafka'nın yazdıklarını anlaşılmaz bulmamızın sebebi de Kafka'nın kendi düşünsel mekanizmaları içerisindeki dişlileri hareket ettirenin baba, bürokrasi, birey ilişkileri gibi birbirleriyle anlam bulmasıdır.
Kafkacım, The Doors'u dinlemeden öldüğün için üzülüyorum! https://youtu.be/2W7TfJRj7fI
https://youtu.be/VC6JxCLzwNI
Kafka'nın Ruh Mutfağı
Dava, Dönüşüm ve Şato kitaplarından sonra okuduğum 4. Kafka eseri oldu.
Aslında Kafka bu elyazmalarına ad vermemiş, kitaplarının yayınlanmasını istememiş vs... Yahu bu Kafka da ne pimpirikli adammış diyenleri duyar gibiyim. O zaman biraz Kafka'dan bahsetmek gerek bu aşamada.
Kafka'nın insanları mekanlarla insansılaşır, mekanları da insanlarla mekanlaşır diyebiliriz. Bu yüzden kafesin biri, bir kuş aramaya çıkar. Elbette bunlar bir metafordur fakat metafor olmayadabilir. Kafes insana baskı kuran bir devlet, kadına baskı kuran bir ataerkillik, kendi özgürlüğünü bulmaya çalışan bireylerin başına inen bir totaliter devlet olabilir!
Bir ortamda Kafka ile ilgili konuşuyorsak kesin yargılardan bahsedemeyiz. Çünkü kendisinin de dediği gibi : "Hedef var, ama yol yok; yol dediğimiz şey tereddütten ibaret." Evet, tam olarak bir tereddüt, şüphe, bürokratik kaos ve hedefe ne kadar yakınlaşırsan o kadar uzaklaşma atomlarının Kafka tepkimesiyle ortaya bulanık bir umut denklemi çıkarmasından bahsedebiliriz.
Ne olursa olsun, Kafka gerek Aforizmalar'da gerekse de diğer kitaplarında 1. Dünya Savaşı'ndan yorgun çıkmış bir Avrupa'nın kendi oturduğu tahtında okuyabileceği ve sorgulaması gerektiği karanlık bir tabloyu yansıtmak istedi. Bu savaşın yarattığı ortamdaki yalnızlığı, bireysizleşmeyi olabildiğince süssüz, yalın bir şekilde anlatmak istedi. Çünkü savaş da bir bakıma süssüzdür, makineli tüfekler sadece öldürmeye odaklanmıştır.
Aforizmalar'da bahsedilen temalar çoğunlukla kayıtsızlık, kısıtlanma, özgürlük sorgulamasıyla birlikte pozitif ve negatif özgürlük kavramları, bireysizleşme, soyutlanma, olay örgüsü bulanıklığı, Kafka'nın hedef ve süreç konusundaki düşünceleri, Tanrı inancı konusundaki cereyanlarından oluşur.
Kafka bir ruh mutfağıdır, baba figürü bu mutfağa yiyecek ihtiyacını sağlar. Kafka'nın ruhu, babasından beslenir. Çünkü Kafka'nın satırları babasıyla arasındaki soyutlanmadan kendisine doygunluk bulur.
Milena'ya Mektuplar bu mutfağın annesidir, ruhlarda sevgi eksikliği vardır, sevgi dağınıktır ve amaçtan sürekli sapar. Şato'daki sevgi buna en büyük örnektir, Şato'ya ulaşmak yerine kendisini amaçtan saptıran bir aşk vardır.
Dava bu mutfağın zeminidir, Aforizmalar'da da bu zeminin kayganlığından bahseder, adımlar geriye doğru kayma eğilimi içerir. Dava, Kafka'nın kileri gibidir, yiyeceklerini oradan alır, bütün kitaplarına bu ruh mutfağında hazırladığı cümle yemeklerinden dağıtır.
Şato bu mutfağın dış görünümüdür. Her zaman Kafka'nın ulaşma istenci içerisinde sunduğu bir hologramdan ibarettir, asıl olay içeride saklıdır, o ruh mutfağındadır fakat hiçbir zaman anlayamayız. Aynı annemizin yaptığı yemeklerin biz yaptığımızda nasıl o kadar güzel olmadıklarını anlayamamamız gibi, Kafka'nın yazdıklarını anlaşılmaz bulmamızın sebebi de Kafka'nın kendi düşünsel mekanizmaları içerisindeki dişlileri hareket ettirenin baba, bürokrasi, birey ilişkileri gibi birbirleriyle anlam bulmasıdır.
Kafkacım, The Doors'u dinlemeden öldüğün için üzülüyorum! https://youtu.be/2W7TfJRj7fI
May 4, 2013
Apparently Kafka can write with clarity - in Aphorisms.
As I read in another goodreads review - Even the least of his works is worth reading.
As I read in another goodreads review - Even the least of his works is worth reading.
July 29, 2023
Slow book
Trovati numerati su 103 foglietti sciolti , essenziali, talvolta scarni , secchi , ad alta densità di significati , complessi ,profondi questi aforismi - che poi,in realtà , di aforismi veri e propri ce ne sono solo alcuni- o meglio questi frammenti scritti da Kafka durante un soggiorno dalla sorella Ottla a Zürau ,ti portano ad una esperienza di lettura diversa, lenta , meditativa .
Uno per pagina, in una particolare forma grafica che ho apprezzato molto:brevi scritti,
circondati dal vuoto della pagina bianca,
come preceduti e seguiti da una pausa di silenzio
Due compiti per iniziare la vita: restringere il tuo cerchio sempre più e controllare continuamente se tu stesso non ti trovi nascosto da qualche parte al di fuori del tuo cerchio
-----------
Si mente il meno possibile soltanto se si mente il meno possibile,
non se si ha il minimo possibile di occasioni per farlo
--------------------------
Tu sei il compito. nessun allievo in vista , da nessuna parte
-----------
Trovati numerati su 103 foglietti sciolti , essenziali, talvolta scarni , secchi , ad alta densità di significati , complessi ,profondi questi aforismi - che poi,in realtà , di aforismi veri e propri ce ne sono solo alcuni- o meglio questi frammenti scritti da Kafka durante un soggiorno dalla sorella Ottla a Zürau ,ti portano ad una esperienza di lettura diversa, lenta , meditativa .
Uno per pagina, in una particolare forma grafica che ho apprezzato molto:brevi scritti,
circondati dal vuoto della pagina bianca,
come preceduti e seguiti da una pausa di silenzio
Due compiti per iniziare la vita: restringere il tuo cerchio sempre più e controllare continuamente se tu stesso non ti trovi nascosto da qualche parte al di fuori del tuo cerchio
-----------
Si mente il meno possibile soltanto se si mente il meno possibile,
non se si ha il minimo possibile di occasioni per farlo
--------------------------
Tu sei il compito. nessun allievo in vista , da nessuna parte
-----------
May 1, 2017
Αυτό το βιβλιαράκι είναι σαν σαν φυλαχτό, πρέπει να το κουβαλάτε μαζί σας και οταν ζορίζουν τα πράγματα να το ξεφυλλίζετε και να μπαίνουν όλα σε τάξη.
October 6, 2020
Είναι σκέψεις του Κάφκα. Ενα λεπτό βιβλίο που μας δίνει μια αναφορά του γνωστού Τσέχου. Η αλήθεια είναι κάποια τα συγκράτησα όπως " μάθε να ηρεμείς μέσα στην στιγμή" και " Η υπομονή είναι η μόνη αληθινή βάση για την πραγματοποίηση κάθε ονείρου" και " Αν και δεν είμαι Εσκιμώος, ζω, όπως οι περισσότεροι άνθρωποι σήμερα, σε έναν παγωμένο κόσμο " και άλλα.
Read
October 21, 2017Bu kitaba puan vermek ne derece doğru olur bilemiyorum. Sonuçta bir aforizma kitabı ve herkeste farklı farklı etkiler bırakacak bir kitap. Ben severim, o sevmez. Ya da ben sevmem, o sever. Aforizma okumak herkes için farklı bir deneyim. En azından bana göre. Ve benim deneyimim, beni tatmin etmek ile beni zorlamak arasında bir yerlerde dolanıyor gibi.
Kısacık bir kitap olmasına rağmen öyle çabucak bitmedi. Bazen bir cümleyi 4-5 kere okudum ve üzerine dakikalarca düşündüm. Ve şimdi baktığımda bile Kafka'nın bazı cümleler ile ne anlatmak istediğini tam olarak anladığımı düşünmüyorum. Kitabımı ünlemler ve soru işaretleri ile doldurdum diyebilirim.
Bir ara tekrardan göz atmayı ve anlamlandıramadığım cümleler üzerine biraz daha düşünmeyi umuyorum.
Kısacık bir kitap olmasına rağmen öyle çabucak bitmedi. Bazen bir cümleyi 4-5 kere okudum ve üzerine dakikalarca düşündüm. Ve şimdi baktığımda bile Kafka'nın bazı cümleler ile ne anlatmak istediğini tam olarak anladığımı düşünmüyorum. Kitabımı ünlemler ve soru işaretleri ile doldurdum diyebilirim.
Bir ara tekrardan göz atmayı ve anlamlandıramadığım cümleler üzerine biraz daha düşünmeyi umuyorum.
June 24, 2012
On one hand, it is clear that Kafka was not an aphorist. Read Albert Camus's Notebooks or Franco-Romanian philosopher E. M. Cioran's various books or Kierkegaard's Either/Or, and you will encounter a great aphorist. But then, Kafka was such a great writer that he could not help hitting the target on occasion.
Kafka spent some eight months at Zurau in Czechoslovakia with his sister Ottla when he discovered he had tuberculosis. He felt some relief being away from the pressures of marriage, work, and family. During this stay in 1917-18, the only thing he wrote were the aphorisms, one to a page on onionskin paper.
Many of these aphorisms did nothing for me. I felt they probably meant more to their author in that the word choice was sometimes a bit personal. Here's a brief selection, with the number of the aphorism in square brackets at the end of each quote:
Within a few years (in 1924), Kafka was dead. Even the least of his works is worth reading.
Kafka spent some eight months at Zurau in Czechoslovakia with his sister Ottla when he discovered he had tuberculosis. He felt some relief being away from the pressures of marriage, work, and family. During this stay in 1917-18, the only thing he wrote were the aphorisms, one to a page on onionskin paper.
Many of these aphorisms did nothing for me. I felt they probably meant more to their author in that the word choice was sometimes a bit personal. Here's a brief selection, with the number of the aphorism in square brackets at the end of each quote:
A. is terribly puffed up, he considers himself magnetically attracting to himself an ever greater array of temptations, from quarters with which he was previously wholly unacquainted. The true explanation for his condition, however, is that a great devil has taken up residence within him, and an endless stream of smaller devils and deviltons are coming to offer the great one their services. [10]It is that last aphorism -- also the last in the collection -- that means the most to me.
I have never been here before: my breath comes differently, the sun is outshone by a star beside it. [17]
From the true opponent, a limitless courage flows into you. [23]
There is no possessing, only an existing, only an existing that yearns for its final breath, for asphyxiation. [35]
The road is endless, there are no shortcuts and no detours, and yet everyone brings to it his own childish haste. "You must walk this ell of ground, too, you won't be spared it." [39a]
A man cannot live without a steady faith in something indestructible within him, though both the faith and the indestructible thing may remain permanently concealed from him. One of the forms of this concealment is the belief in a personal god. [50]
It isn't necessary that you leave home. Sit at your desk and listen. Don't even listen, just wait. Don't wait, be still and alone. The whole world will offer itself to you to be unmasked, it can do no other, it will writhe before you in ecstasy. [109]
Within a few years (in 1924), Kafka was dead. Even the least of his works is worth reading.
Read
April 8, 2023Never thought I'd give only 3 stars to Kafka, but on the heels of La Rochefoucauld and Lichtenberg, Kafka's aphoristic craft just didn't leave much of an impression on my mind. There were a couple that stood out, certainly; and enough to warrant another read or two. Perhaps with my expectations now calibrated, I will yield fruit on a subsequent reading.
March 6, 2019
5
"Από ένα σημείο και μετά, επιστροφή καμιά. Αυτό το σημείο να φτάσεις πρέπει".
50
"Ο άνθρωπος δεν μπορεί να ζήσει δίχως μιαν αέναη εμπιστοσύνη σε κάτι ανώλεθρο εντός του, αν και τόσο το ανώλεθρο στοιχείο όσο και η εμπιστοσύνη παραμένουν γι' αυτόν αενάως αποκρυμμένα. Ένας από τους τρόπους με τους οποίους εκφράζεται αυτή η διαρκής απόκρυψη είναι η πίστη σ' έναν προσωπικό Θεό".
"Από ένα σημείο και μετά, επιστροφή καμιά. Αυτό το σημείο να φτάσεις πρέπει".
50
"Ο άνθρωπος δεν μπορεί να ζήσει δίχως μιαν αέναη εμπιστοσύνη σε κάτι ανώλεθρο εντός του, αν και τόσο το ανώλεθρο στοιχείο όσο και η εμπιστοσύνη παραμένουν γι' αυτόν αενάως αποκρυμμένα. Ένας από τους τρόπους με τους οποίους εκφράζεται αυτή η διαρκής απόκρυψη είναι η πίστη σ' έναν προσωπικό Θεό".
March 18, 2016
Παρορμητική αγορά. Δεν το ήξερα καν, δεν ήξερα καν τι περιέχει. Το πήρα επειδή μου άρεσε το εξώφυλλο και επειδή ήταν φθηνό. Χαχαχαχα.
Τελικά πρόκειται για κάποιες σκέψεις και "αφορισμούς" όπως λέγεται και στον τίτλο του Franz Kafka. Ορισμένα "quotes" ας τα πω μου έκαναν πολύ δυνατό κλικ και άλλα μου πέρασαν αδιάφορα σα να μην είχαν λόγο ύπαρξης. Αλλά για τα πρώτα θα του βάλω το 4άρι.
Τελικά πρόκειται για κάποιες σκέψεις και "αφορισμούς" όπως λέγεται και στον τίτλο του Franz Kafka. Ορισμένα "quotes" ας τα πω μου έκαναν πολύ δυνατό κλικ και άλλα μου πέρασαν αδιάφορα σα να μην είχαν λόγο ύπαρξης. Αλλά για τα πρώτα θα του βάλω το 4άρι.
February 29, 2020
Every work of Kafka needs an extraordinary level of understanding of the life to understand his work to its truest essence. I could understand few of the aphorisms but most of them are beyond my understanding. Only life experiences would makes us capable of understanding them.
June 21, 2013
an hour is all it takes. and you will have more than one sentence to remember all your life.
December 19, 2016
-Οι χαρές ετούτης της ζωής δεν είναι της ζωής, αλλά ο φόβος μας να υψωθούμε σε μιαν ανώτερη ζωή τα βάσανα ετούτης της ζωής δεν είναι της ζωής, αλλά ο αυτοβασανισμός μας εξαιτίας αυτού φόβου.
-Η συναναστροφή με τους άλλους παρασύρει κάποιον στο να παρατηρεί τον εαυτό του.
-Το ρεύμα αντίθετα στο οποίο κολυμπά κάποιος είναι τόσο ορμητικό που μερικές φορές μέσα σε ένα παροξυσμό ταραχής τους πιάνει απελπισία από τη μοναχική γαλήνη μέσα στην οποία τσαλαβουτά τόσο πολύ πίσω έχει παρασυρθεί κάποια στιγμή ανεπάρκειας.
-Οπωσδήποτε υπάρχουν δυνατότητες για μένα αλλά κάτω από ποια πέτρα είναι κρυμμένες?
-Υπάρχει προορισμός αλλά όχι δρόμος αυτό που αποκαλούμε δρόμο είναι ο δισταγμός.
-Μερικοί αρνούνται την ύπαρξη της δυστυχίας δείχνοντας τον ήλιο, αυτός αρνείται την ύπαρξη του ήλιου δείχνοντας τη δυστυχία
-Η συναναστροφή με τους άλλους παρασύρει κάποιον στο να παρατηρεί τον εαυτό του.
-Το ρεύμα αντίθετα στο οποίο κολυμπά κάποιος είναι τόσο ορμητικό που μερικές φορές μέσα σε ένα παροξυσμό ταραχής τους πιάνει απελπισία από τη μοναχική γαλήνη μέσα στην οποία τσαλαβουτά τόσο πολύ πίσω έχει παρασυρθεί κάποια στιγμή ανεπάρκειας.
-Οπωσδήποτε υπάρχουν δυνατότητες για μένα αλλά κάτω από ποια πέτρα είναι κρυμμένες?
-Υπάρχει προορισμός αλλά όχι δρόμος αυτό που αποκαλούμε δρόμο είναι ο δισταγμός.
-Μερικοί αρνούνται την ύπαρξη της δυστυχίας δείχνοντας τον ήλιο, αυτός αρνείται την ύπαρξη του ήλιου δείχνοντας τη δυστυχία
August 19, 2021
Kafka เขียนปรัชญาดีกว่าที่คิด สนุกกว่าที่คิด บางตอนเข้าใจง่าย บางตอนเข้าใจยาก-งง ก็เป็นธรรมดาของปรัชญาส่วนตัว
หัก 1 คะแนนตรงในเล่มสะท้อนความคิดที่ว่าผู้หญิงเป็นต้นกำเนิดแห่งบาป (สอดคล้องกับความคิดเชิงศาสนา) ออกมาหลายครั้ง พยายามเข้าใจซึ่งก็เข้าใจสังคมขณะนั้นผู้เขียนนะ แต่ก็ยังไม่ชอบใจอยู่ดี
หัก 1 คะแนนตรงในเล่มสะท้อนความคิดที่ว่าผู้หญิงเป็นต้นกำเนิดแห่งบาป (สอดคล้องกับความคิดเชิงศาสนา) ออกมาหลายครั้ง พยายามเข้าใจซึ่งก็เข้าใจสังคมขณะนั้นผู้เขียนนะ แต่ก็ยังไม่ชอบใจอยู่ดี
March 7, 2016
Oldukça ağır ama güzel bir eser. Bazı aforizmaları 5-6 kere okuduğum oldu.
Kitabı bitirdikten sonra kafama takıldı, acaba anlatmak istediklerinin yüzde kaçını tüm berraklığı ile kavrayabildim...
Kitabı bitirdikten sonra kafama takıldı, acaba anlatmak istediklerinin yüzde kaçını tüm berraklığı ile kavrayabildim...
July 28, 2016
Aphorisms is a fantastic form of writing, or concentrating on a thought that should only be a sentence or two. There is for sure, a connection to poetry, because the language has to be extremely precise and to the point. Franz Kafka's "Aphorisms" is a collection of his witticisms and thoughts in this manner. "Belief is progress doesn't mean belief in progress that has already occurred. That would not require belief." Without a doubt (or belief) I will be dipping into this book on an ongoing basis.
January 2, 2017
"Η συναναστροφή με τους άλλους παρασύρει κάποιον στο να παρατηρεί τον εαυτό του"
"Μάθε να ηρεμείς μέσα στη στιγμή"
"Πέρα από ένα ορισμένο σημείο, δεν υπάρχει επιστροφή. Αυτό το σημείο οφείλουμε να το φτάσουμε"
Κάποιοι από τους αφορισμούς που μου έκαναν εντύπωση. Άλλοι πάλι, με άφησαν αδιάφορη.
"Μάθε να ηρεμείς μέσα στη στιγμή"
"Πέρα από ένα ορισμένο σημείο, δεν υπάρχει επιστροφή. Αυτό το σημείο οφείλουμε να το φτάσουμε"
Κάποιοι από τους αφορισμούς που μου έκαναν εντύπωση. Άλλοι πάλι, με άφησαν αδιάφορη.
May 6, 2019
kafka modernist yazar denilince akla gelen ilk isimlerden biri. gerçekten onun "dönüşüm" adlı eseri ile dünya edebiyatı da ciddi bir dönüşüme uğramıştır. hayatımda, bir "suç ve ceza"yı okuduğumda bir şeylerin benden eksildiğini hissettim, iki "dönüşüm"de. tabii "suç ve ceza" çok daha büyük bir parça almıştı benden. adını koyamadığım o boşluk bugün bile bilinçdışı düzeyinde beni etkisi altına almıştır, öyle düşünüyorum. aynı derin etkiyi yaratmamakla birlikte "dönüşüm"de de buna benzer bir rahatsızlık hissetmiştim. yine buna benzer bir beklenti ufkuyla elime aldığım "aforizmalar" adlı eser beni müthiş bir hayal kırıklığına uğrattı. handiyse elime rastgele bir popüler roman alsaydım daha fazla tortu bırakırdı bende.
öykülerinde olan o eşsiz konumundan epey uzakta kafka. aforizmalardan birçoğu koyu bir dindarın ağzından çıkan taassup dolu ifadeler. hepimizin aşina olduğu o din yurdunun söylemleri var kafkanın ağzında kimi zaman. eril söylem hep taarruzda. ve hedef her zamanki gibi aynı. malum otoritenin konumunu pekiştirmek üzere toprağa -daha doğrusu yatağa- gömülen kadın.
içeriğe gelirsek, ben iş bankası yayınlarından okudum. ferit edgü'nün önsözü ile başlıyor eser ve başlık olarak "kafka güneşi" tabiri uygun görülmüş. ferit edgü'nün eseri alımlama şekline elbette karışamam ama benim için bu eser "kafkanın batışı"ydı (tabii o modernist kafka hala değerinden hiçbir şey kaybetmedi, orası ayrı; "aforizmalar"ı müstakil bir şekilde değerlendiriyorum). birkaç alıntıyla gidelim, kafka'nın erilliğiyle başlayalım:
"kötü'nün elindeki en etkili ayartıcı silahlardan biri, savaşa çağrıdır. Bu, kadınlarla yapılan savaşa benzer, ki sonu yatakta biter." aforizma 7
görüldüğü üzere kötüyle yapılan savaş ile kadınla yapılan savaş(!) arasında paralel bir düşünce hakim. öte yandan kadın ayartıcılığı ile ön plana alınıp yatakla nihai istikameti işaret edilmiş. bu ifadeler şaşırtmadı beni, bu ifadeleri kafka'dan duymak şaşırttı. fakat onun pek mukaddes kaynaklardan beslendiğini idrak ettikçe bu alışıldık zihin dünyasına eski bir selam çaktım. semavi dinlerden alışığız bu ifadelere. kadın her zamanki gibi kötü, ayartıcı ve nihayetinde yatakla anlam kazanan damızlık bir biyolojik varlık sadece. bir öznelliği yok. anlamı da yok erkeği yoldan çıkartmak ya da erkeğine çocuk vermekten başka. yine aynı düşünceyi 105 numaralı aforizmada görmekteyiz:
" iyi bizi kandırıp kötü'nün kucağına atar, kadının bakışıyla bizi yatağına çağırması gibi."
bir başka mesele çeviri meselesi. 16 numaralı aforizma şöyle: "gerçek parçaları ayrılamaz, bu yüzden kendini tanıma yeteneğinden yoksundur; her kim onu tanımak isterse bir yalan olmak zorundadır." burada "her kim onu tanımak isterse" kısmından sonra "bir yalan olmak zorunda" olan gerçeklik kavramı mı, yoksa gerçekliği tanımak isteyen özne mi belli değil. kitapta buna benzer çeviri yavanlıkları da söz konusu. tüm bunların yanı sıra kitapta bir elin parmağını geçmeyecek sayıda birkaç güzel aforizma da var, yok değil:
"kafesin biri, bir kuş aramaya çıktı." aforizma 16.
içimdeki kafka dostu "gerçek kafka bu değil" diye sayıklarken nihayet gerçek kafka'nın masaya iştirak ettiği ve varoluşun bedelini ödemektense bir başkasının köleliğini yapmak suretiyle var olmaya çalışan "böcek"leri anlattı:
"hayvan, hışımla çekip alır kırbacı efendisinin elinden ve kendi kendisinin efendisi olmak için kendi kendisini kırbaçlar, bilmez ki bu, efendisinin kırbacına atılmış yeni düğümün yol açtığı bir hayalden başka bir şey değildir." aforizma 29. Ben bu aforizmadaki hayal kelimesi yerine "yanılsama" demeyi uygun görüyorum, kafka her ne kadar yanılsama dememişse bile bizdeki karşılığı hayal olamaz.
varoluş sorunu yaşayan bir başka grup:
"onlara kral ya da kralın habercileri olma seçeneği verilmişti. çocukların yaptığı gibi hepsi haberci olmak istedi. bu yüzden çok sayıda haberci var, dünyayı dolaşıp duruyorlar, yeryüzünde kral kalmadığından, anlamsız hale gelen haberleri birbirlerine ulaştırıyorlar. bu sefil hayatlarına memnuniyetle bir son vermek istiyorlar, ancak bağlılık yemininden dolayı buna cesaretleri yok." aforizma 47.
sonuç olarak çok üzücü bir deneyimdi. ölüm gibi bir şey oldu ve maalesef bir şeyler öldü. :(
öykülerinde olan o eşsiz konumundan epey uzakta kafka. aforizmalardan birçoğu koyu bir dindarın ağzından çıkan taassup dolu ifadeler. hepimizin aşina olduğu o din yurdunun söylemleri var kafkanın ağzında kimi zaman. eril söylem hep taarruzda. ve hedef her zamanki gibi aynı. malum otoritenin konumunu pekiştirmek üzere toprağa -daha doğrusu yatağa- gömülen kadın.
içeriğe gelirsek, ben iş bankası yayınlarından okudum. ferit edgü'nün önsözü ile başlıyor eser ve başlık olarak "kafka güneşi" tabiri uygun görülmüş. ferit edgü'nün eseri alımlama şekline elbette karışamam ama benim için bu eser "kafkanın batışı"ydı (tabii o modernist kafka hala değerinden hiçbir şey kaybetmedi, orası ayrı; "aforizmalar"ı müstakil bir şekilde değerlendiriyorum). birkaç alıntıyla gidelim, kafka'nın erilliğiyle başlayalım:
"kötü'nün elindeki en etkili ayartıcı silahlardan biri, savaşa çağrıdır. Bu, kadınlarla yapılan savaşa benzer, ki sonu yatakta biter." aforizma 7
görüldüğü üzere kötüyle yapılan savaş ile kadınla yapılan savaş(!) arasında paralel bir düşünce hakim. öte yandan kadın ayartıcılığı ile ön plana alınıp yatakla nihai istikameti işaret edilmiş. bu ifadeler şaşırtmadı beni, bu ifadeleri kafka'dan duymak şaşırttı. fakat onun pek mukaddes kaynaklardan beslendiğini idrak ettikçe bu alışıldık zihin dünyasına eski bir selam çaktım. semavi dinlerden alışığız bu ifadelere. kadın her zamanki gibi kötü, ayartıcı ve nihayetinde yatakla anlam kazanan damızlık bir biyolojik varlık sadece. bir öznelliği yok. anlamı da yok erkeği yoldan çıkartmak ya da erkeğine çocuk vermekten başka. yine aynı düşünceyi 105 numaralı aforizmada görmekteyiz:
" iyi bizi kandırıp kötü'nün kucağına atar, kadının bakışıyla bizi yatağına çağırması gibi."
bir başka mesele çeviri meselesi. 16 numaralı aforizma şöyle: "gerçek parçaları ayrılamaz, bu yüzden kendini tanıma yeteneğinden yoksundur; her kim onu tanımak isterse bir yalan olmak zorundadır." burada "her kim onu tanımak isterse" kısmından sonra "bir yalan olmak zorunda" olan gerçeklik kavramı mı, yoksa gerçekliği tanımak isteyen özne mi belli değil. kitapta buna benzer çeviri yavanlıkları da söz konusu. tüm bunların yanı sıra kitapta bir elin parmağını geçmeyecek sayıda birkaç güzel aforizma da var, yok değil:
"kafesin biri, bir kuş aramaya çıktı." aforizma 16.
içimdeki kafka dostu "gerçek kafka bu değil" diye sayıklarken nihayet gerçek kafka'nın masaya iştirak ettiği ve varoluşun bedelini ödemektense bir başkasının köleliğini yapmak suretiyle var olmaya çalışan "böcek"leri anlattı:
"hayvan, hışımla çekip alır kırbacı efendisinin elinden ve kendi kendisinin efendisi olmak için kendi kendisini kırbaçlar, bilmez ki bu, efendisinin kırbacına atılmış yeni düğümün yol açtığı bir hayalden başka bir şey değildir." aforizma 29. Ben bu aforizmadaki hayal kelimesi yerine "yanılsama" demeyi uygun görüyorum, kafka her ne kadar yanılsama dememişse bile bizdeki karşılığı hayal olamaz.
varoluş sorunu yaşayan bir başka grup:
"onlara kral ya da kralın habercileri olma seçeneği verilmişti. çocukların yaptığı gibi hepsi haberci olmak istedi. bu yüzden çok sayıda haberci var, dünyayı dolaşıp duruyorlar, yeryüzünde kral kalmadığından, anlamsız hale gelen haberleri birbirlerine ulaştırıyorlar. bu sefil hayatlarına memnuniyetle bir son vermek istiyorlar, ancak bağlılık yemininden dolayı buna cesaretleri yok." aforizma 47.
sonuç olarak çok üzücü bir deneyimdi. ölüm gibi bir şey oldu ve maalesef bir şeyler öldü. :(
February 21, 2020
Ben aforizmaları doğrudan okumaktan çok hoşlanmıyorum. Aslında Kafka'nın eserlerinin içinde bu kitaptakinden çok daha vurucu aforizmaları var. Zaten Kafka bir kalıba girmeden anlatmak istediğini anlatınca, her cümlesi potansiyel bir aforizma halini alıyor.
Bu sebeplerle art arda okunan bu aforizmalar tarzı eserleri çok sevmesem de üç yıldız verdim.
Yazara yabancıysanız hiçbir şey ifade etmeyecek cümleler bunlar maalesef. Benim tavsiyem, bu kitabı bir en önce bir de tüm Kafka eserlerinden sonra bir daha okumanız.
Bu sebeplerle art arda okunan bu aforizmalar tarzı eserleri çok sevmesem de üç yıldız verdim.
Yazara yabancıysanız hiçbir şey ifade etmeyecek cümleler bunlar maalesef. Benim tavsiyem, bu kitabı bir en önce bir de tüm Kafka eserlerinden sonra bir daha okumanız.
August 23, 2021
Yine Kafka, yine metaforlar... Bazılarını anlamak için bunun ne zaman hatta hangi olay sonucunda yazıldığının bilinmesi gerekiyor. Bazılarını anlamak için tekrar tekrar okuyup üzerine düşünmek gerekiyor. Bazıları ise, bence çeviri olmasından kaynaklı, anlam bozulmasına uğruyor. Orijinal Kafka'yı okuyabilme deneyimi yaşayabilmek için Almanca öğrenmeye başlamama az kaldı.
Kafka'yı ve düşünce yapısını anlamak ne mümkün fakat bu kitap sayesinde ona biraz daha yaklaştığımı düşünüyorum. Bu nedenle Kafka'yı biraz daha anlamak isteyen varsa, öneririm.
Kafka'yı ve düşünce yapısını anlamak ne mümkün fakat bu kitap sayesinde ona biraz daha yaklaştığımı düşünüyorum. Bu nedenle Kafka'yı biraz daha anlamak isteyen varsa, öneririm.
Read
June 2, 2018Gündelik yaşam ve kitaplara dair aldığı notları oylamayı doğru bulmuyorum.
Yorumlarda "defalarca okudum" falan gördüm. Anlaşılmama sebebi çok ağır olması değil tamamen Kafka'ya dair olmasından ötürü. Herhangi bir yaratım sürecinde yazılan çok kişisel düşünceler. Yazarın kafasında olan onlarca sayfalık düşünceyi ufak bir cümlede özetlemiş olabilir. Bu düşüncelerini belki bir kitapta gördük belki de hiç görmedik. O yüzden bu notlara kutsal metinmiş gibi davranmayı bırakmak gerekiyor.
Yorumlarda "defalarca okudum" falan gördüm. Anlaşılmama sebebi çok ağır olması değil tamamen Kafka'ya dair olmasından ötürü. Herhangi bir yaratım sürecinde yazılan çok kişisel düşünceler. Yazarın kafasında olan onlarca sayfalık düşünceyi ufak bir cümlede özetlemiş olabilir. Bu düşüncelerini belki bir kitapta gördük belki de hiç görmedik. O yüzden bu notlara kutsal metinmiş gibi davranmayı bırakmak gerekiyor.
April 9, 2020
É impossível descrever uma pessoa em sua totalidade, contudo o livro proporciona alguns lampejos sobre o espírito de Kafka. Me parecem herméticas algumas de suas frases, senão demasiadas pessoais, outras parecem meditações elaboradas por longos períodos de tempo. De todos os escritores que já busquei algum tipo de biografia ou um maior conhecimento sobre, Kafka permanece sendo uma incógnita, ou quem sabe tão original a ponto de ser irreconhecível.
November 14, 2011
one of the most inspiring books i had the pleasure to read and the best part is that you can even reflect on the aphorism and write your thoughts right below. P-e-r-f-e-c-t.
One of the best ones: “From a certain point onward there is no longer any turning back. That is the point that must be reached.”
One of the best ones: “From a certain point onward there is no longer any turning back. That is the point that must be reached.”
February 26, 2018
En este pequeño libro, se recopilan una serie de Aforismos de Kafka, en los últimos años de su vida, en ciertos momentos se torna un poco religioso, sino demasiado, por su origen judío y todo lo que el judaísmo representaba para él. Tiene citas muy bellas, que vale la pena leer y reflexionar un poco sobre ellas.
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