An idea's birth is legitimate if one has the feeling that one is catching oneself plagiarizing oneself. Karl Kraus More Quotes by Karl Kraus More Quotes From Karl Kraus The secret of the demagogue is to make himself as stupid as his audience so they believe they are clever as he. Karl Kraus stupidcleverfunny The devil is an optimist if he thinks he can make people worse than they are. Karl Kraus devilpeoplethinking Solitude would be ideal if you could pick the people to avoid. Karl Kraus solitudewould-bepeople Corruption is worse than prostitution. The latter might endanger the morals of an individual, the former invariably endangers the morals of the entire country. Karl Kraus moral-corruptionliteraturecountry Since the law prohibits the keeping of wild animals and I get no enjoyment from pets, I prefer to remain unmarried. Karl Kraus marriagelawanimal Intercourse with a woman is sometimes a satisfactory substitute for masturbation. But it takes a lot of imagination to make it work. Karl Kraus imaginationliteraturework A weak man has doubts before a decision; a strong man has them afterwards. Karl Kraus strongsuccessmotivational When a culture feels that its end has come, it sends for a priest. Karl Kraus atheismsocietyreligion How do wars start? Diplomats tell lies to journalists, then believe what they read. Karl Kraus warbelievelying Journalist: a person without any ideas but with an ability to express them; a writer whose skill is improved by a deadline: the more time he has, the worse he writes. Karl Kraus skillswritingideas Moral responsibility is what is lacking in a man when he demands it of a woman. Karl Kraus demandresponsibilitymen The heroes of obtrusiveness, people with whom no soldier would lie down in the trenches, though he has to submit to being interviewed by them, break into recently abandoned royal castles so that they can report, "We got there first!" It would be far less shameful to be paid for committing atrocities than for fabricating them. Karl Kraus herolyingpeople Democracy means the opportunity to be everyone's slave. Karl Kraus democracyopportunitymean Where do I find the time for not reading so many books? Karl Kraus readingtimebook A philistine is habitually bored and looks for things that won't bore him. An artist finds things boring, but is never bored. Karl Kraus boredomlooksart Language is the mother of thought, not its handmaiden. Karl Kraus languagemother The sound principle of a topsy-turvy lifestyle in the framework of an upside-down world order has stood every test. Karl Kraus soundlifeorder Insights into erotic life belong to art, not education. But sometimes these have to be spelled out for the illiterates. And it ismainly a matter of convincing the illiterates, for they are the ones who write the penal code. Karl Kraus eroticwritingart If something is stolen from you, don't go to the police. They're not interested. Don't go to a psychologist either, because he's interested in only one thing: that it was really you who did the stealing. Karl Kraus psychologiststealingpolice So-called psychoanalysis is the occupation of lustful rationalists who trace everything in the world to sexual causes--with the exception of their occupation. Karl Kraus occupationcausesworld
