Isaac Bashevis Singer citáty

strana 2

„Moje závěť obsahuje pokyny pro můj pohřeb, při kterém nepůjdou za rakví truchlící pozůstalí, ale stádo volů, ovcí, prasat, drůbeže a malé přenosné akvárium s živými rybami, a všechna zvířata si obléknou bílý závoj na počest člověka, jenž by raději zahynul, než by jedl sobě blízké bytosti.“

„Na jatkách se uřezávají hlavy zvířat, z trupů se stahuje kůže, pářou se břicha. Jak dlouho se ještě bude Bůh dívat na tohle vaše strašné peklo a mlčet? Proč potřebujete tento oceán krve a masa, jehož puch se šíří po celém vašem vesmíru?“

„Ve vztahu ke zvířatům jsou všichni lidé nacisté… Pro zvířata je Treblinka každodenností.“

„Být vegetariánem, znamená odpor vůči dnešnímu stavu světa, vůči hladu, krutosti, mrhání, válce. Proti tomu je nutné něco podniknout. Má odpověď se jmenuje: vegetariánství.“

„Když jsem byl malý chlapec, považovali mě za lháře, ale teď když jsem dospělý, považují mě za spisovatele.“

„Celá škola fikce ve 20. století vychází z Hamsuna.“

“Strange as these words may sound I often play with the idea that when all the social theories collapse and wars and revolutions leave humanity in utter gloom, the poet — whom Plato banned from his Republic — may rise up to save us all.”

“I started to "write" even before I knew the alphabet. I would dip a pen in ink and scribble. I also liked to draw — horses, houses, dogs. The Sabbath was an ordeal for me, because it is forbidden to write on that day.”

“As often as Herman had witnessed the slaughter of animals and fish, he always had the same thought: in their behavior toward creatures, all men were Nazis. The smugness with which man could do with other species as he pleased exemplified the most extreme racist theories, the principle that might is right.”

“A story to me means a plot where there is some surprise… Because that is how life is — full of surprises.”

“The analysis of character is the highest human entertainment.”

“We write not only for children but also for their parents. They, too, are serious children.”

“I know as a writer how valuable a tool is the wastebasket. Perhaps God throws away many experiments before He finds the right expression. Perhaps we are the discards — or we could be the part He keeps. This mystery is what keeps us all going, to see what happens in the next chapter.”

“Yiddish has not yet said its last word. It contains treasures that have not been revealed to the eyes of the world. It was the tongue of martyrs and saints, of dreamers and Cabalists — rich in humor and in memories that mankind may never forget. In a figurative way, Yiddish is the wise and humble language of us all, the idiom of frightened and hopeful Humanity.”