Milan Kundera Quotes

Top 100 wise famous quotes and sayings by Milan Kundera

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Milan Kundera Famous Quotes & Sayings

Discover top inspirational quotes from Milan Kundera on Wise Famous Quotes.

Milan Kundera quotes: What we have not chosen we cannot consider either to our merit or our failure. What we have not chosen we cannot consider either to our merit or our failure.
Milan Kundera quotes: Extremes mean borders beyond which life ends ... and a passion for extremism is a veiled longing for death. Extremes mean borders beyond which life ends ... and a passion for extremism is a veiled longing for death.
Milan Kundera quotes: Tereza burst out laughing Thomas laughed with her Tereza burst out laughing
Thomas laughed with her
Milan Kundera quotes: She felt happy in Paris, happier than here, but only Prague held her by a secret bond of beauty. She felt happy in Paris, happier than here, but only Prague held her by a secret bond of beauty.
Milan Kundera quotes: Misery and pride. 'On horseback, death and a peacock'. Misery and pride. 'On horseback, death and a peacock'.
Milan Kundera quotes: Only the basic situations in life occur only once, never to return. For a man to be a man, he must be fully aware of this never-to-return. (p.148) Only the basic situations in life occur only once, never to return. For a man to be a man, he must be fully aware of this never-to-return. (p.148)
Milan Kundera quotes: To laugh is to live profoundly. To laugh is to live profoundly.
Milan Kundera quotes: Fortunately women have the miraculous ability to change the meaning of their actions after the event. Fortunately women have the miraculous ability to change the meaning of their actions after the event.
Milan Kundera quotes: To rebel against being born a woman seemed as foolish to her as to take pride in it. To rebel against being born a woman seemed as foolish to her as to take pride in it.
Milan Kundera quotes: Anyone who starts doubting details will end by doubting life itself. Anyone who starts doubting details will end by doubting life itself.
Milan Kundera quotes: Too much faith is the worst ally Too much faith is the worst ally
Milan Kundera quotes: Is a novel anything but a trap set for a hero? Is a novel anything but a trap set for a hero?
Milan Kundera quotes: There is no perfection only life There is no perfection only life
Milan Kundera quotes: Adventure, the first great theme of the novel. Adventure, the first great theme of the novel.
Milan Kundera quotes: Only the most naive of questions are truly serious. Only the most naive of questions are truly serious.
Milan Kundera quotes: He was not at all sure he was doing the right thing, but he was sure he was doing what he wanted to do He was not at all sure he was doing the right thing, but he was sure he was doing what he wanted to do
Milan Kundera quotes: Where are all those virtues of unreason that have shaped our idea of love? Where are all those virtues of unreason that have shaped our idea of love?
Milan Kundera quotes: Aren't we living in a world where heedless men only desire decapitated women? Aren't we living in a world where heedless men only desire decapitated women?
Milan Kundera quotes: In her presence I could dare everything: sincerity, emotion, pathos. In her presence I could dare everything: sincerity, emotion, pathos.
Milan Kundera quotes: Even painful memories are ties that bind. Even painful memories are ties that bind.
Milan Kundera quotes: The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting
Milan Kundera quotes: Birds of fortuity flutter down on her shoulders ... Birds of fortuity flutter down on her shoulders ...
Milan Kundera quotes: The moment someone keeps an eye on what we do, we involuntarily make allowances for that eye, and nothing we do is truthful. The moment someone keeps an eye on what we do, we involuntarily make allowances for that eye, and nothing we do is truthful.
Milan Kundera quotes: How defenseless we are in the face of flattery! How defenseless we are in the face of flattery!
Milan Kundera quotes: We can never know what to want, because, living only one life, we can neither compare it with our previous lives nor perfect it in our lives to come. We can never know what to want, because, living only one life, we can neither compare it with our previous lives nor perfect it in our lives to come.
Milan Kundera quotes: Beauty by mistake' the final phase in the history of beauty. Beauty by mistake'
the final phase in the history of beauty.
Milan Kundera quotes: Is heaviness truly deplorable and lightness splendid? Is heaviness truly deplorable and lightness splendid?
Milan Kundera quotes: That is the secret of poetry. We burn in the woman we adore, we burn in the thought we espouse, we burn in the landscape that moves us That is the secret of poetry. We burn in the woman we adore, we burn in the thought we espouse, we burn in the landscape that moves us
Milan Kundera quotes: The novel is the fruit of a human illusion. The illusion of the power to understand others. But what do we know of one another? The novel is the fruit of a human illusion. The illusion of the power to understand others. But what do we know of one another?
Milan Kundera quotes: Eroticism is like a dance: one always leads the other. Eroticism is like a dance: one always leads the other.
Milan Kundera quotes: When his wife was at his side, she was also in front of him, marking out the horizon of his life. Now the horizon is empty: the view has changed. When his wife was at his side, she was also in front of him, marking out the horizon of his life. Now the horizon is empty: the view has changed.
Milan Kundera quotes: The more vast the amount of time we've left behind us, the more irresistible is the voice calling us to return to it. The more vast the amount of time we've left behind us, the more irresistible is the voice calling us to return to it.
Milan Kundera quotes: [P]eople who shout joy from the rooftops are often the saddest of all ... (p.24) [P]eople who shout joy from the rooftops are often the saddest of all ... (p.24)
Milan Kundera quotes: God has been kind to dogs in no putting a sense of beauty into their heads. God has been kind to dogs in no putting a sense of beauty into their heads.
Milan Kundera quotes: Unlike the puerile loyalty to a conviction, loyalty to a friend is a virtue - perhaps the only virtue, the last remaining one. Unlike the puerile loyalty to a conviction, loyalty to a friend is a virtue - perhaps the only virtue, the last remaining one.
Milan Kundera quotes: Ah, ladies and gentlemen, a man lives a sad life when he cannot take anything or anyone seriously. Ah, ladies and gentlemen, a man lives a sad life when he cannot take anything or anyone seriously.
Milan Kundera quotes: Beauty is a spark which flares up when two ages meet across the distance of time, ... beauty is a clean sweep of chronology, a rebellion against time. Beauty is a spark which flares up when two ages meet across the distance of time, ... beauty is a clean sweep of chronology, a rebellion against time.
Milan Kundera quotes: The history of music is mortal, but the idiocy of the guitar is eternal. The history of music is mortal, but the idiocy of the guitar is eternal.
Milan Kundera quotes: Our lives may be separate, but they run in the same direction, like parallel lines. Our lives may be separate, but they run in the same direction, like parallel lines.
Milan Kundera quotes: The termites of reduction have always gnawed away at life: even the greatest love ends up as a skeleton of feeble memories. The termites of reduction have always gnawed away at life: even the greatest love ends up as a skeleton of feeble memories.
Milan Kundera quotes: Looking out over the courtyard at the dirty walls, he realized he had no idea whether it was hysteria or love. Looking out over the courtyard at the dirty walls, he realized he had no idea whether it was hysteria or love.
Milan Kundera quotes: It was futile to attack with reason the stout wall of irrational feelings that, as is known, is the stuff of which the female mind is made. It was futile to attack with reason the stout wall of irrational feelings that, as is known, is the stuff of which the female mind is made.
Milan Kundera quotes: The greatest adventure of our lives is the absence of adventure. The greatest adventure of our lives is the absence of adventure.
Milan Kundera quotes: I was not a hypocrite, with one real face and several false ones. I had several faces because I was young and didn't know who I was or wanted to I was not a hypocrite, with one real face and several false ones. I had several faces because I was young and didn't know who I was or wanted to be.
Milan Kundera quotes: The basis of shame is not some personal mistake of ours, but that this humiliation is seen by everyone The basis of shame is not some personal mistake of ours, but that this humiliation is seen by everyone
Milan Kundera quotes: Everyone is wrong about the future. Everyone is wrong about the future.
Milan Kundera quotes: The greater the ambiguity, the greater the pleasure. The greater the ambiguity, the greater the pleasure.
Milan Kundera quotes: Homer never wondered whether, after their many hand-to-hand struggles, Achilles or Ajax still had all their teeth. Homer never wondered whether, after their many hand-to-hand struggles, Achilles or Ajax still had all their teeth.
Milan Kundera quotes: Love begins with a metaphor, which is to say, love begins at the point when a woman enters her first word into our poetice memory.pg 209 Love begins with a metaphor, which is to say, love begins at the point when a woman enters her first word into our poetice memory.
pg 209
Milan Kundera quotes: (God) being the old man invented in order to, and with whom to, hold long conversations. (God) being the old man invented in order to, and with whom to, hold long conversations.
Milan Kundera quotes: I say novelist, not writer. The novelist is one who, according to Flaubert, seeks to disappear behind his work. I say novelist, not writer. The novelist is one who, according to Flaubert, seeks to disappear behind his work.
Milan Kundera quotes: Believe me, nothing is more beautiful than to carry out crazy ideas. I'd like my whole life to be one single crazy idea. Believe me, nothing is more beautiful than to carry out crazy ideas. I'd like my whole life to be one single crazy idea.
Milan Kundera quotes: The love between dog and man is idyllic, dogs were never expelled from paradise. The love between dog and man is idyllic, dogs were never expelled from paradise.
Milan Kundera quotes: I am not in favor of imposing happiness on people. Everyone has a right to his bad wine, to his stupidity, and to his dirty fingernails. I am not in favor of imposing happiness on people. Everyone has a right to his bad wine, to his stupidity, and to his dirty fingernails.
Milan Kundera quotes: He Kept recalling her lying on his bed; she reminded him of no one in his former life. He Kept recalling her lying on his bed; she reminded him of no one in his former life.
Milan Kundera quotes: No, it was not superstition, it was a sense of beauty that cured her of her depression and imbued her with a new will to live. No, it was not superstition, it was a sense of beauty that cured her of her depression and imbued her with a new will to live.
Milan Kundera quotes: She regarded books as the emblems of secret brotherhood. A man with this sort of library couldn't possibly hurt her. She regarded books as the emblems of secret brotherhood. A man with this sort of library couldn't possibly hurt her.
Milan Kundera quotes: But when the strong were too weak to hurt the weak, the weak had to be strong enough to leave. But when the strong were too weak to hurt the weak, the weak had to be strong enough to leave.
Milan Kundera quotes: Yes, it's crazy. Love is either crazy or it's nothing at all. Yes, it's crazy. Love is either crazy or it's nothing at all.
Milan Kundera quotes: But the world was too ugly, and no one decided to rise up out of the grave. But the world was too ugly, and no one decided to rise up out of the grave.
Milan Kundera quotes: But isn't it true that an author can write only about himself? But isn't it true that an author can write only about himself?
Milan Kundera quotes: Seeing is limited by two borders: Strong light, which blinds, and total darkness. Seeing is limited by two borders: Strong light, which blinds, and total darkness.
Milan Kundera quotes: In languages that derive from Latin "compassion" means: we cannot look on coolly as others suffer; or, we sympathize with those who suffer In languages that derive from Latin "compassion" means: we cannot look on coolly as others suffer; or, we sympathize with those who suffer
Milan Kundera quotes: Irena went to the window to savor the freedom of solitude. Irena went to the window to savor the freedom of solitude.
Milan Kundera quotes: Mockery is a rust that corrodes all it touches. Mockery is a rust that corrodes all it touches.
Milan Kundera quotes: There is nothing harder to explain than humor. There is nothing harder to explain than humor.
Milan Kundera quotes: At what exact moment did the real turn into the unreal, reality into reverie? Where was the border? Where is the border? At what exact moment did the real turn into the unreal, reality into reverie? Where was the border? Where is the border?
Milan Kundera quotes: It takes a very great intelligence to breathe logical meaning into meaningless ideas. It takes a very great intelligence to breathe logical meaning into meaningless ideas.
Milan Kundera quotes: By writing books, a man turns into a universe. By writing books, a man turns into a universe.
Milan Kundera quotes: All lovers unconsciously establish their own rules of the game, which from the outset admit of no transgression. All lovers unconsciously establish their own rules of the game, which from the outset admit of no transgression.
Milan Kundera quotes: To be a writer does not mean to preach a truth, it means to discover a truth. To be a writer does not mean to preach a truth, it means to discover a truth.
Milan Kundera quotes: Internal imperatives are all the more powerful and therefore all the more of an inducement to revolt. Internal imperatives are all the more powerful and therefore all the more of an inducement to revolt.
Milan Kundera quotes: But what had happened, had happened, and it was no longer possible to right anything. But what had happened, had happened, and it was no longer possible to right anything.
Milan Kundera quotes: Forgive me," he went on. "For a long time I have had the peculiar habit of not arriving but appearing. Forgive me," he went on. "For a long time I have had the peculiar habit of not arriving but appearing.
Milan Kundera quotes: But I'm not dead!" Tereza cried. "I can still feel!""So can we," the corpses laughed. But I'm not dead!" Tereza cried. "I can still feel!"
"So can we," the corpses laughed.
Milan Kundera quotes: Disgust at having to talk about oneself is what distinguishes novelistic talent from lyric talent, Disgust at having to talk about oneself is what distinguishes novelistic talent from lyric talent,
Milan Kundera quotes: The source of anxiety lies in the future. If you can keep the future out of mind, you can forget your worries. The source of anxiety lies in the future. If you can keep the future out of mind, you can forget your worries.
Milan Kundera quotes: [M]an has always harbored the desire to rewrite his own biography, to change the past, to wipe out tracks, both his own and other's. (p.130) [M]an has always harbored the desire to rewrite his own biography, to change the past, to wipe out tracks, both his own and other's. (p.130)
Milan Kundera quotes: Art must always stand guard against stirring emotions that lie outside the aesthetic: sexual arousal, terror, disgust, shock. Art must always stand guard against stirring emotions that lie outside the aesthetic: sexual arousal, terror, disgust, shock.
Milan Kundera quotes: Let the planet be convulsed with exploding bombs. Let the planet be convulsed with exploding bombs.
Milan Kundera quotes: In the sunset of dissolution, everything is illuminated by the aura of nostalgia, even the guillotine. In the sunset of dissolution, everything is illuminated by the aura of nostalgia, even the guillotine.
Milan Kundera quotes: A scarf from her dress works free and floats behind her the way memories float behind the dead. A scarf from her dress works free and floats behind her the way memories float behind the dead.
Milan Kundera quotes: Physical love is unthinkable without violence. Physical love is unthinkable without violence.
Milan Kundera quotes: Fidelity gives a unity to lives that would otherwise splinter into thousands of split-second impressions. Fidelity gives a unity to lives that would otherwise splinter into thousands of split-second impressions.
Milan Kundera quotes: The emotion of love gives all of us a misleading illusion of knowing the other. The emotion of love gives all of us a misleading illusion of knowing the other.
Milan Kundera quotes: Her weakness was aggressive and kept forcing him to capitulate until eventually he lost his strength and was transformed into the rabbit in her arms . Her weakness was aggressive and kept forcing him to capitulate until eventually he lost his strength and was transformed into the rabbit in her arms .
Milan Kundera quotes: I understood that there was no escaping the memories, that I was surround by them. (p.30) I understood that there was no escaping the memories, that I was surround by them. (p.30)
Milan Kundera quotes: In the world of eternal return the weight of unbearable responsibility lies heavy on every move we make. In the world of eternal return the weight of unbearable responsibility lies heavy on every move we make.
Milan Kundera quotes: The stronger their nostalgia, the emptier of recollections it becomes. The stronger their nostalgia, the emptier of recollections it becomes.
Milan Kundera quotes: Jealousy has the amazing power to illuminate a single person in an intense beam of light, keeping the multitude of others in total darkness. Jealousy has the amazing power to illuminate a single person in an intense beam of light, keeping the multitude of others in total darkness.
Milan Kundera quotes: There was pleasure in Paradise but no excitement.pg 246 There was pleasure in Paradise but no excitement.
pg 246
Milan Kundera quotes: On the surface, an intelligible lie; underneath, the unintelligible truth. On the surface, an intelligible lie; underneath, the unintelligible truth.
Milan Kundera quotes: Even in the game there lurks a lack of freedom; even in a game is a trap for the players. Even in the game there lurks a lack of freedom; even in a game is a trap for the players.
Milan Kundera quotes: They talk on about death, about boredom, they drink wine, they laugh, they have a good time, they are happy. They talk on about death, about boredom, they drink wine, they laugh, they have a good time, they are happy.
Milan Kundera quotes: Shit is a more onerous theological problem than is evil. Shit is a more onerous theological problem than is evil.
Milan Kundera quotes: Flirting is a promise of sexual intercourse without a guarantee. Flirting is a promise of sexual intercourse without a guarantee.
Milan Kundera quotes: But if God is gone and man is no longer master, then who is master? But if God is gone and man is no longer master, then who is master?
Milan Kundera quotes: The life we have left behind us has a bad habit of stepping out of the shadows, of bringing complaints against us, of taking us to court. The life we have left behind us has a bad habit of stepping out of the shadows, of bringing complaints against us, of taking us to court.
Milan Kundera quotes: An optimist is someone who thinks that on planet number five the history of mankind will be less bloody. A pessimist is one who thinks otherwise. An optimist is someone who thinks that on planet number five the history of mankind will be less bloody. A pessimist is one who thinks otherwise.
Milan Kundera quotes: Those boobs of yours are ubiquitous - like God! Those boobs of yours are ubiquitous - like God!

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