A man who wants the truth becomes a scientist; a man who wants to give free play to his subjectivity may become a writer; but what should a man do who wants something in between? — Robert Musil Copy Share Image
And since the possession of qualities presupposes that one takes a certain pleasure in their reality, all this gives us a glimpse of how it may all of a sudden happen to someone who cannot summon up any sense of… — Robert Musil Copy Share Image
“Everything we feel and do is somehow oriented "lifeward," and the least deviation away from this direction toward something beyond is difficult or alarming.… — Robert Musil Copy Share Image
“He was in that familiar state - not that the occasion mattered to seriously to him -- of incoherent ideas spreading outward without a… — Robert Musil Copy Share Image
It is life that does the thinking all around us, forming with playful ease the connections our reason can only laboriously patch together piecemeal,… — Robert Musil Copy Share Image
“What is it you do, then? I'll tell you: You leave out whatever doesn't suit you. As the author himself has done before you.… — Robert Musil Copy Share Image
and while faith based on theological reasoning is today universally engaged in a bitter struggle with doubt and resistance from the prevailing brand of… — Robert Musil Copy Share Image
What is the use of good painting? We want a spell cast upon the optical part of our existence! We seldom really see the… — Robert Musil Copy Share Image
That the will of the people can be established by voting for democrats is, of course, a delusion. Yet when considering a non-threatening system… — Robert Musil Copy Share Image
“Ein Mann, der die Wahrheit will, wird Gelehrter; ein Mann, der seine Subjektivität spielen lassen will, wird vielleicht Schriftsteller; was aber soll ein Mann… — Robert Musil Copy Share Image
“For a long time now a hint of aversion had lain on everything he did and experienced, a shadow of impotence and loneliness, an… — Robert Musil Copy Share Image
“All the knowledge that has led our species from wearing animal skins to people flying, complete with proofs, would fill a handful of reference… — Robert Musil Copy Share Image
I also believe that few people remain completely untouched by the thought that instead of the life they lead there might also be another,… — Robert Musil Copy Share Image
“His appearance gives no clue to what his profession might be, and yet he doesn't look like a man without a profession either. Consider… — Robert Musil Copy Share Image
