Karl Kraus

“In case of doubt, decide in favor of what is correct.”

“A writer is someone who can make a riddle out of an answer.”

“The world is a prison in which solitary confinement is preferable.”

“Wo nehm ich nur all die Zeit her, so viel nicht zu lesen?”

“Someone who can write aphorisms should not fritter away his time in essays.”

“The mission of the press is to spread culture while destroying the attention span.”

“Jealousy is a dog's bark which attracts thieves.”

“There are people who can never forgive a beggar for their not having given him anything.”

“When a man is treated like a beast, he says, 'After all, I'm human.' When he behaves like a beast, he says 'After all, I'm only human.'”

“It is the style of idealism to console itself for the loss of something old with the ability to gape at something new.”

“Education is a crutch with which the foolish attack the wise to prove that they are not idiots.”

“Curses on the law! Most of my fellow citizens are the sorry consequences of uncommitted abortions.”

“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.”

“How is the world ruled and led to war? Diplomats lie to journalists and believe these lies when they see them in print.”

“A child learns to discard his ideals, whereas a grown-up never wears out his short pants.”

“Democracy divides people into workers and loafers. It makes no provision for those who have no time to work.”

“Stupidity is an elemental force for which no earthquake is a match.”

“I had a terrible vision: I saw an encyclopedia walk up to a polymath and open him up.”

“Corruption is worse than prostitution. The latter might endanger the morals of an individual, the former invariably endangers the morals of the entire country.”

“Feminine passion is to masculine as an epic is to an epigram.”