“… it is not necessary to accept everything as true, one must only accept it as necessary.' 'A melancholy conclusion,' said K. 'It turns lying into a universal principle. In the Cathedral”

—  Franz Kafka , book The Trial

Variant: No," said the priest, "you don't need to accept everything as true, you only have to accept it as necessary." "Depressing view," said K. "The lie made into the rule of the world.
Source: The Trial (1920), Chapter 9

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "… it is not necessary to accept everything as true, one must only accept it as necessary.' 'A melancholy conclusion,' s…" by Franz Kafka?
Franz Kafka photo
Franz Kafka 266
author 1883–1924

Related quotes

Franz Kafka photo

“…it is not necessary to accept everything as true, one must only accept it as necessary.”

'A melancholy conclusion,' said K. 'It turns lying into a universal principle.In the Cathedral
Source: The Trial (1920), Chapter 9

Swami Vivekananda photo

“Everything must be sacrificed, if necessary, for that one sentiment: universality.”

Swami Vivekananda (1863–1902) Indian Hindu monk and phylosopher

Pearls of Wisdom

Margaret Mead photo

“It seems to me very important to continue to distinguish between two evils. It may be necessary temporarily to accept a lesser evil, but one must never label a necessary evil as good.”

Margaret Mead (1901–1978) American anthropologist

As quoted in Margaret Mead : Some Personal Views (1979) edited by Rhoda Métraux
As quoted in American Quotations (1992) by Gorton Carruth and Eugene H. Ehrlich
1970s
Variant: At times it may be necessary temporarily to accept a lesser evil, but one must never label a necessary evil as good.

Albert Camus photo

“Accepting the absurdity of everything around us is one step, a necessary experience: it should not become a dead end. It arouses a revolt that can become fruitful.”

Albert Camus (1913–1960) French author and journalist

"Three Interviews" in Lyrical and Critical Essays (1970)

“To succeed it is necessary to accept the world as it is and rise above it.”

Michael Korda (1933) British writer

Source: Success! (1977), p. 284; a portion of this — "In order to succeed we must first believe that we can" — has become widely attributed to Nikos Kazantzakis on the internet, but without citation of any sources.
Context: The American system demands success, and in order to succeed we must first believe that we can. Yet our society, with its intolerance of failure and poverty, traps millions of people in positions where any kind of success seems impossible to contemplate, and in which failure itself is a kind of passive rebellion against their own misery and the social system which created it in the first place.
To succeed it is necessary to accept the world as it is and rise above it.

Leó Szilárd photo

“Even if we accept, as the basic tenet of true democracy, that one moron is equal to one genius, is it necessary to go a further step and hold that two morons are better than one genius?”

Leó Szilárd (1898–1964) Physicist and biologist

As quoted in "Some Szilardisms on War, Fame, Peace", LIFE‎ magazine, Vol. 51, no. 9 (1 September 1961), p. 79
The Voice of the Dolphins : And Other Stories (1961)
Variant: I'm all in favor of the democratic principle that one idiot is as good as one genius, but I draw the line when someone takes the next step and concludes that two idiots are better than one genius.

Anders Behring Breivik photo

“If one acknowledges that Islam has always oppressed the Jews, one accepts that Israel was a necessary refuge for the Jews fleeing not only the European, but also the Islamic variety of anti- Judaism.”

Anders Behring Breivik (1979) Norwegian mass murderer

Norway attack suspect had anti-Muslim, pro-Israel views http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=230762/ Jerusalem Post (24 July 2011)
Other

Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar photo

“Equality may be a fiction but nonetheless one must accept it as governing principle.”

Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (1891–1956) Father of republic India, champion of human rights, father of India's Constitution, polymath, revolutionary…

Political Science for Civil Services Main Examination (2010)

Baba Hari Dass photo

“To overcome the fear of death it is necessary to accept that we all have to die”

Baba Hari Dass (1923–2018) master yogi, author, builder, commentator of Indian spiritual tradition

Silence Speaks, from the chalkboard of Baba Hari Dass, 1977
Context: Q: What can I do to overcome my fear of death? A: Attachment to the body causes fear of death. It is the strongest attachment. Even a newborn infant has this attachment. To overcome the fear of death it is necessary to accept that we all have to die. (p.39)

Kathleen Norris photo

Related topics