---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Satire chooses and knows no objects. It…"
description: "\"Satire chooses and knows no objects. It arises by fleeing from them and their forcing themselves upon it.\" — Karl Kraus"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40a/karl-kraus-1128_arise_satire-chooses-and-knows-no-objects-it-a_785823.png"
---

#  Satire chooses and knows no objects. It arises by fleeing…

![“Satire chooses and knows no objects. It arises by fleeing from them and their forcing themselves upon it.” quote by Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40a/karl-kraus-1128_arise_satire-chooses-and-knows-no-objects-it-a_785823.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40a/karl-kraus-1128_arise_satire-chooses-and-knows-no-objects-it-a_785823.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40a/karl-kraus-1128_arise_satire-chooses-and-knows-no-objects-it-a_785823.png)

> “Satire chooses and knows no objects. It arises by fleeing from them and their forcing themselves upon it.”

[Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Satire has no fixed target; it emerges by escaping from objects that try to force themselves upon it.

**In simple terms:** Satire avoids fixed targets, escapes forced objects.

Key Takeaway

Use satire to critique indirect constraints.

Themes

satire objectivity creativity critique

Mood

ironic intellectual

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- political commentary
- media analysis
- artistic expression
- social critique

Key Concepts

literary theory philosophy

Questions to Reflect On

- How can satire remain effective without a clear target?
- What objects should satire resist?

A Different Perspective

Satire can become vague if it avoids clear targets; balance needed.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Arise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arise/) [Arises Fleeing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arises-fleeing-6045897/) [Fleeing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fleeing/) [Fleeing Forcing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fleeing-forcing-6045898/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Objects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/objects/) [Objects Arises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/objects-arises-6045899/) [Satire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/satire/) [Satire Chooses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/satire-chooses-6045896/)

## Related quotes

> [Satire that the censor understands is rightly censored.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/satire-that-the-censor-understands-is-rightly-censored/)

[Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/)

> [When you shoot someone who is fleeing, it's not self-defense. It's an execution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-shoot-someone-who-is-fleeing-it-s-not-self-defense-it-s-an/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“The dark might be dark, but at least we don’t have to look at ourselves when we’re standing in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/the-dark-might-be-dark-but-at-least-we-don-t-have-to-look-at/)

[Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/)

> [Many immigrants do not talk about what they endured back home. They were fleeing that world, and when they left they didn't want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-wilkerson/many-immigrants-do-not-talk-about-what-they-endured-back-home-they/)

[Isabel Wilkerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-wilkerson/)

> [Fight against your ego with the four swords of training: eat little, sleep little, speak little, and be patient when people harm you... Then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yahya-ibn-mu-adh-al-razi/fight-against-your-ego-with-the-four-swords-of-training-eat-little/)

[Yahya ibn Mu'adh al-Razi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yahya-ibn-mu-adh-al-razi/)

> [In the meantime the big corporations are fleeing America for tax havens and places like Ireland, Luxembourg and the Grand Cayman Islands; the rich…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/in-the-meantime-the-big-corporations-are-fleeing-america-for-tax/)

[Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/)

> [The impact of climate change, extreme weather events, the reason people are fleeing their homes is quite significant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-mayorkas/the-impact-of-climate-change-extreme-weather-events-the-reason-people/)

[Alejandro Mayorkas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-mayorkas/)

> [Refugees are threatening, not just to Americans, but also in many countries the world over. And it's partially because, unlike immigrants, refugees do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nguyen-viet-thang/refugees-are-threatening-not-just-to-americans-but-also-in-many/)

[Nguyen Viet Thang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nguyen-viet-thang/)

> [A man may be accused of cowardice for fleeing away from all manner of physical dangers but when things supernatural, insubstantial and inexplicable threaten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-hill/a-man-may-be-accused-of-cowardice-for-fleeing-away-from-all-manner-of/)

[Susan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-hill/)

> [“continued through January, sending visitors fleeing back to the mainland like snorkelers”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joann-bassett/continued-through-january-sending-visitors-fleeing-back-to-the/)

[JoAnn Bassett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joann-bassett/)

> [I have been a long-time advocate for a just Arab-Israeli peace and for Palestinian refugees. Today, as you are aware, Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/queen-noor-of-jordan/i-have-been-a-long-time-advocate-for-a-just-arab-israeli-peace-and/)

[Queen Noor of Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/queen-noor-of-jordan/)

> [“Darkness is the absence of light. Therefore, darkness is always fleeing from where light is and scurrying off to where it is not. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/darkness-is-the-absence-of-light-therefore-darkness-is-always-fleeing/)

[Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/)

> [By disgracing and degrading the presidency of the United States, by fleeing the White House like a diseased cur, Richard Nixon broke the heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/by-disgracing-and-degrading-the-presidency-of-the-united-states-by/)

[Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/)

> [It has been hard to muster the resources to support fledgling democracies and to intervene on behalf of the most desperate. The AIDS orphans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/condoleezza-rice/it-has-been-hard-to-muster-the-resources-to-support-fledgling/)

[Condoleezza Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/condoleezza-rice/)

> [The combination of threads, remote-procedure-call interfaces, and heavyweight object-oriented design is especially dangerous... if you are ever invited onto a project that is supposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-s-raymond/the-combination-of-threads-remote-procedure-call-interfaces-and/)

[Eric S. Raymond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-s-raymond/)

## More by Karl Kraus

> [You'd be surprised how hard it can often be to translate an action into an idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/you-d-be-surprised-how-hard-it-can-often-be-to-translate-an-action/)

[Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/)

> [I don't like to meddle in my private affairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/i-don-t-like-to-meddle-in-my-private-affairs/)

[Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/)

> [A historian is not always a prophet facing backwards, but a journalist is always someone who afterwards knew everything beforehand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/a-historian-is-not-always-a-prophet-facing-backwards-but-a-journalist/)

[Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/)

> [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,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/when-a-man-is-treated-like-a-beast-he-says-after-all-i-m-human-when/)

[Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/)

> [They judge lest they be judged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/they-judge-lest-they-be-judged/)

[Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/)

> [I and my public understand each other very well: it does not hear what I say, and I don't say what it wants to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/i-and-my-public-understand-each-other-very-well-it-does-not-hear-what/)

[Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/)

> [Satire that the censor understands is rightly censored.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/satire-that-the-censor-understands-is-rightly-censored/)

[Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/)

> [Hate must make a man productive. Otherwise one might as well love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/hate-must-make-a-man-productive-otherwise-one-might-as-well-love/)

[Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/)

> [One must read all writers twice--the good as well as the bad. The one kind will be recognized; the other, unmasked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/one-must-read-all-writers-twice-the-good-as-well-as-the-bad-the-one/)

[Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/)

> [Children today laugh at fathers who tell them about dragons. It is necessary to make fear a required subject; otherwise children will never learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/children-today-laugh-at-fathers-who-tell-them-about-dragons-it-is/)

[Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/)

> [The little stations are very proud because the expresses have to pass them by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/the-little-stations-are-very-proud-because-the-expresses-have-to-pass/)

[Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/)

> [The unattractive thing about chauvinism is not so much the aversion to other nations as the love of one's own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/the-unattractive-thing-about-chauvinism-is-not-so-much-the-aversion/)

[Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/)

> [I have often been asked to be fair and view a matter from all sides. I did so, hoping that something might improve if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/i-have-often-been-asked-to-be-fair-and-view-a-matter-from-all-sides-i/)

[Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/)

> [In the theater one must sit in such a way that one sees the audience as a dark mass. Then it cannot bother one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/in-the-theater-one-must-sit-in-such-a-way-that-one-sees-the-audience/)

[Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/)

> [Many desire to kill me, and many wish to spend an hour chatting with me. The law protects me from the former.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/many-desire-to-kill-me-and-many-wish-to-spend-an-hour-chatting-with/)

[Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/)

[Explore all 275 Karl Kraus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/)

## More Arise quotes

> [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/)

[Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/)

> [The financial crisis we are facing today arises from the fact that there is almost no more social, cultural, natural, and spiritual capital left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eisenstein/the-financial-crisis-we-are-facing-today-arises-from-the-fact-that/)

[Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/)

> [Let art, then, imitate nature, find what she desires, and follow as she directs. For in invention nature is never last, education never first;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/let-art-then-imitate-nature-find-what-she-desires-and-follow-as-she/)

[Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/)

> [Do not be satisfied with the speech of your lips and the thought in your heart, all the promises and good sayings in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/menachem-mendel-of-kotzk/do-not-be-satisfied-with-the-speech-of-your-lips-and-the-thought-in/)

[Menachem Mendel of Kotzk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/menachem-mendel-of-kotzk/)

> [Arise Evans had a fungous nose, and said, it was revealed to him, that the King's hand would cure him, and at the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-aubrey/arise-evans-had-a-fungous-nose-and-said-it-was-revealed-to-him-that/)

[John Aubrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-aubrey/)

> [Boasting and bravado may exist in the breast even of the coward, if he is successful through a mere lucky hit; but a just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/boasting-and-bravado-may-exist-in-the-breast-even-of-the-coward-if-he/)

[Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/)

> [We need less travelling by jet plaes from congress to congress... but more kneeling and praying and pleading to God to have mercy on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martyn-lloyd-jones/we-need-less-travelling-by-jet-plaes-from-congress-to-congress-but/)

[Martyn Lloyd-Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martyn-lloyd-jones/)

> [In my model, important interference phenomena arise when individual strata come into contact. These chaotic fluctuations are, I suppose, what my music is really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-ferneyhough/in-my-model-important-interference-phenomena-arise-when-individual/)

[Brian Ferneyhough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-ferneyhough/)

> [Whenever you step out of the noise of thinking, that is meditation, and a different state of consciousness arises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/whenever-you-step-out-of-the-noise-of-thinking-that-is-meditation-and/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [An idea or institution may arise for one reason and be maintained for quite a different reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mccabe/an-idea-or-institution-may-arise-for-one-reason-and-be-maintained-for/)

[Joseph McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mccabe/)

> [The oppressed without hope are mysteriously quiet. When the conception of change is beyond the limits of the possible, there are no words to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-rowbotham/the-oppressed-without-hope-are-mysteriously-quiet-when-the-conception/)

[Sheila Rowbotham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-rowbotham/)

> [I arise full of eagerness and energy, knowing well what achievement lies ahead of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zane-grey/i-arise-full-of-eagerness-and-energy-knowing-well-what-achievement/)

[Zane Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zane-grey/)

> [When you train your thoughts to dissolve as they arise, they will cross your mind like a bird crosses the sky--without leaving a trace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julietta-suzuki/when-you-train-your-thoughts-to-dissolve-as-they-arise-they-will/)

[Julietta Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julietta-suzuki/)

> [Nothing, not even the best and noblest, can go on as it now is. Nothing, not even what is lowest and most bestial, will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nothing-not-even-the-best-and-noblest-can-go-on-as-it-now-is-nothing/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [So we and our elaborately evolving computers may meet each other halfway. Someday a human being, named perhaps Fred White, may shoot a robot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/so-we-and-our-elaborately-evolving-computers-may-meet-each-other/)

[Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/)

[Browse all 1,703 Arise quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arise/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Satire chooses and knows no objects. It arises by fleeing from them and their forcing themselves upon it.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Karl Kraus"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/satire-chooses-and-knows-no-objects-it-arises-by-fleeing-from-them/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Arise"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/satire-chooses-and-knows-no-objects-it-arises-by-fleeing-from-them/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40a/karl-kraus-1128_arise_satire-chooses-and-knows-no-objects-it-a_785823.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40a/karl-kraus-1128_arise_satire-chooses-and-knows-no-objects-it-a_785823.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40a/karl-kraus-1128_arise_satire-chooses-and-knows-no-objects-it-a_785823.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Satire chooses and knows no objects. It arises by fleeing from them and their forcing themselves upon it.” — Karl Kraus",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Karl Kraus",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Satire chooses and knows no objects....",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/satire-chooses-and-knows-no-objects-it-arises-by-fleeing-from-them/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/satire-chooses-and-knows-no-objects-it-arises-by-fleeing-from-them/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
