The novelist teaches the reader to comprehend the world as a question. Milan Kundera More Quotes by Milan Kundera More Quotes From Milan Kundera Perhaps if they had stayed together longer, Sabina and Franz would have begun to understand the words they used. Gradually, timorously, their vocabularies would have come together, like bashful lovers, and the music of one would have begun to intersect with the music of the other. But it was too late now. Milan Kundera vocabularytogethertoo-late Dogs do not have many advantages over people, but one of them is extremely important: euthanasia is not forbidden by law in their case; animals have the right to a merciful death. Milan Kundera lawdoganimal Tereza had gone back to sleep; he could not. He pictured her death. She was dead and having terrible nightmares; but because she was dead, he was unable to wake her from them. Yes, that is death: Tereza asleep, having terrible nightmares, and he unable to wake her. Milan Kundera nightmaregonesleep To rebel against being born a woman seemed as foolish to her as to take pride in it. Milan Kundera rebelwomenpride People derived too much pleasure from seeing their fellow man morally humiliated to spoil that pleasure by hearing out an explanation. Milan Kundera fellow-manmenpeople For Sabina, living in truth, lying neither to ourselves nor to others, was possible only away from the public: the moment someone keeps an eye on what we do, we involuntarily make allowances for that eye, and nothing we do is truthful. Having a public, keeping a public in mind, means living in lies. Milan Kundera eyemeanlying Perhaps the reason we are unable to love is that we yearn to be loved, that is, we demand something - love - from our partner instead of delivering ourselves up to him demand-free and asking for nothing but his company. Milan Kundera demandaskinglove But just make someone who has fallen in love listen to his stomach rumble, and the unity of body and soul, that lyrical illusion of the age of science , instantly fades away. Milan Kundera unitysoulage The river flowed from century to century, and human affairs play themselves out on its banks. Play themselves out to be forgotten the next day, while the river flows on. Milan Kundera next-dayplayrivers Speed is the form of ecstasy the technical revolution has bestowed on man. As opposed to a motorcyclist, the runner is always present in his body, forever required to think about his blisters, his exhaustion; when he runs he feels his weight, his age, more conscious than ever of himself and of his time of life. This all changes when man delegates the faculty of speed to a machine: from then on, his own body is outside the process, and he gives over to a speed that is noncorporeal, nonmaterial, pure speed, speed itself, ecstasy speed. Milan Kundera runningmenthinking Jealousy isn't a pleasant quality, but if it isn't overdone (and if it's combined with modesty), apart from its inconvenience there's even something touching about it. Milan Kundera jealousyqualitytouching The girl was grateful to the young man for every bit of flattery; she wanted to linger for a moment in its warmth and so she said, 'You're very good at lying.' 'Do I look like a liar?' 'You look like you enjoy lying to women,' said the girl, and into her words there crept unawares a touch of the old anxiety, because she really did believe that her young man enjoyed lying to women. Milan Kundera girlliarslying Fortunately women have the miraculous ability to change the meaning of their actions after the event. Milan Kundera womeneventsaction Even in the game there lurks a lack of freedom; even in a game is a trap for the players. Milan Kundera trapsplayergames She was aware that in love even the most passionate idealism will not rid the body's surface of its terrible, basic importance. Milan Kundera surfacepassionatebody But then he told himself: What does it really mean to be useful? Today's world, just as it is, contains the sum of the utility of all people of all times. Which implies: The highest morality consists in being useless. Milan Kundera doemeanpeople The day after his father left, Franz and his mother went into town together, and as they left home Franz noticed that her shoes did not match. He was in a quandary: he wanted to point out the mistake, but was afraid he would hurt her. So, during the two hours they spent walking through the city together he kept his eyes focused on her feet. It was then he had his first inkling of what it means to suffer. Milan Kundera hurtmotherfather Solitude: a sweet absence of looks. Milan Kundera being-alonelonelinesssweet Being in a foreign country means walking a tightrope high above the ground without the net afforded a person by the country where he has his family, colleagues, and friends, and where he can easily say what he has to say in a language he has known from childhood. Milan Kundera childhoodmeancountry Physical love is unthinkable without violence. Milan Kundera violencelove-isrelationship
