Erich Kastner Quotes & Sayings

Emil was already familiar with those people who always say, "Goodness, everything was better in the old days." And he no longer listened when people told him that in the old days the air was cleaner or that cows had bigger heads. Because it usually wasn't true. Those people simply wanted to be dissatisfied, because otherwise they would have to be satisfied. — Erich Kastner

Lisa had confessed and Mommy had forgiven her. It had been a long, complicated confession, followed by a brief absolution for all the sins committed--a look, a kiss--nothing more was needed...Oh how wonderful it was to have told the truth at last! How free she felt, as free as air! — Erich Kastner

Determination is all very well if you want to jump off a tower. But will power is not enough when it comes to cooking beef and noodles. — Erich Kastner

Most people put their childhood away as if it was an old hat. They forget it as if it was a phone number that does not apply anymore. They think about their life as if it was a salami which they are eating slice by slice and then they become grown-ups, but what are they now? Only those who grow up and still remain children are real human beings. — Erich Kastner

If life has hit out at you, and you weren't prepared for it, a little housefly has only to cough and it will knock you flat — Erich Kastner

He was fond of that early stage of intoxication which leads a man to believe that he can feel the earth revolving. The trees and houses still stand quietly in their places, the street-lamps have not yet acquired a twin, but the earth revolves; you feel it at last! But today even that displeased him. He walked on beside his intoxication and pretended they did not know each other. What a queer globe it was, whether it revolved or not! He could not help thinking of a drawing by Daumier, entitled "Progress". Daumier had drawn a number of snails crawling after each other; that was the pace of human development. But the snails were crawling in a circle.
And that was the worst of it. — Erich Kastner

You can build something beautiful from stones that are put in your way. — Erich Kastner

The only people who attain power are those who crave it. — Erich Kastner

It is always the same. Whether you are walking or going by train, the way always seems shorter the second time than the first. (And that is true of distances that are not to be measured in miles and yards.) — Erich Kastner