--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is a story, for instance, that has…" description: "\"“There is a story, for instance, that has very much the ring of truth about it. It goes like this: One of the older officials, a good and peaceful man,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a90/franz-kafka-214_early-morning_there-is-a-story-for-instance-that-has-v_535446.jpg" --- # There is a story, for instance, that has very much the… ![“There is a story, for instance, that has very much the ring of truth about it. It goes like this: One of the older officials, a good and peaceful man, was dealing with a difficult matter for the court which had become very confused, especially thanks to the contributions from the lawyers. He had…” quote by Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a90/franz-kafka-214_early-morning_there-is-a-story-for-instance-that-has-v_535446.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a90/franz-kafka-214_early-morning_there-is-a-story-for-instance-that-has-v_535446.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a90/franz-kafka-214_early-morning_there-is-a-story-for-instance-that-has-v_535446.jpg) > ““There is a story, for instance, that has very much the ring of truth about it. It goes like this: One of the older officials, a good and peaceful man, was dealing with a difficult matter for the court which had become very confused, especially thanks to the contributions from the lawyers. He had been studying it for a day and a night without a break — as these officials are indeed hard working, no-one works as hard as they do. When it was nearly morning, and he had been working for twenty-four hours with probably very little result, he went to the front entrance, waited there in ambush, and every time a lawyer tried to enter the building he would throw him down the steps. The lawyers gathered together down in front of the steps and discussed with each other what they should do; on the one hand they had actually no right to be allowed into the building so that there was hardly anything that they could legally do to the official and, as I've already mentioned, they would have to be careful not to set all the officials against them. On the other hand, any day not spent in court is a day lost for them and it was a matter of some importance to force their way inside. In the end, they agreed that they would try to tire the old man out. One lawyer after another was sent out to run up the steps and let himself be thrown down again, offering what resistance he could as long as it was passive resistance, and his colleagues would catch him at the bottom of the steps. That went on for about an hour until the old gentleman, who was already exhausted from working all night, was very tired and went back to his office.”” [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A diligent official is overwhelmed by endless legal disputes, leading him to physically block lawyers, illustrating the futility of relentless work without rest. **In simple terms:** Hard work without rest leads to burnout and conflict. Key Takeaway Balance effort with rest. Themes work law burnout conflict authority Mood frustrated exhausted reflective Type narrative ethical philosophical When to use this quote - courtroom - legal negotiations - administrative overload Key Concepts exhaustion passive resistance bureaucracy Questions to Reflect On - How can one manage endless demands without breaking down? - When is resistance justified? A Different Perspective Limits of physical force;ethical implications of violence ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Early morning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/early-morning/) [Hard working](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-working/) [Lawyer Sent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lawyer-sent-4488468/) [Lawyer Tried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lawyer-tried-4488466/) [Lawyers Gathered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lawyers-gathered-4488467/) [Man Lawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-lawyer-1981967/) [Officials Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/officials-hard-3263089/) [Old man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-man/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [You try to get every little possible advantage you can. And sometimes for the officials, it's really really hard to officiate the games. 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Is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/waswo-x-waswo-2/my-studio-team-and-i-approached-the-creation-of-this-series-with/) [Waswo X Waswo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/waswo-x-waswo-2/) [Browse all 495 Early morning quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/early-morning/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There is a story, for instance, that has very much the ring of truth about it. It goes like this: One of the older officials, a good and peaceful man, was dealing with a difficult matter for the court which had become very confused, especially thanks to the contributions from the lawyers. He had been studying it for a day and a night without a break — as these officials are indeed hard working, no-one works as hard as they do. When it was nearly morning, and he had been working for twenty-four hours with probably very little result, he went to the front entrance, waited there in ambush, and every time a lawyer tried to enter the building he would throw him down the steps. The lawyers gathered together down in front of the steps and discussed with each other what they should do; on the one hand they had actually no right to be allowed into the building so that there was hardly anything that they could legally do to the official and, as I've already mentioned, they would have to be careful not to set all the officials against them. On the other hand, any day not spent in court is a day lost for them and it was a matter of some importance to force their way inside. In the end, they agreed that they would try to tire the old man out. One lawyer after another was sent out to run up the steps and let himself be thrown down again, offering what resistance he could as long as it was passive resistance, and his colleagues would catch him at the bottom of the steps. 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