Jan Neruda

“Niemand würde glauben, wie schön Prag in der Nacht ist, im Glanz des Mondes. Die Menschen schlummern, die Steine sind lebendig geworden, auch in die Standbilder auf der Karlsbrücke kommt Leben. Der Hradčin, schon am Tage majestätisch erhaben, ist bei Nacht noch erhabener. Umflort von der Farbe der Finsternis, erhebt er sich hoch in den endlosen Himmel, und sein Turm, steil aufragend, reicht bis an die funkelnden Sterne. Die Moldau rauscht hymnisch, über ihrem Tal steht der Mond, der sich so manchmal von dem herrlichen Anblick nicht trennen kann; er schaut und schaut, bis ihn die eifersüchtige Sonne verscheucht.”

“The two men were greedily hunched over the table, like two wolves disputing a carcass, but their muttered speech in the echoing hall resembled more the grunting of pigs. One was less than a wolf: he was a public prosecutor. The other was more than a pig, he was a chief commissioner of police.”

“Men are jealous of every woman, even when they don’t have the slightest interest in her themselves.”

“At least when one speaks of oneself one is passionate, well-informed and specific.”

“I hear there are people who actually enjoy moving. Sounds like a disease to me - they must be unstable. Though it does have it’s poetry, I’ll allow that. When an old dwelling starts looking desolate, a mixture of regret and anxiety comes over us and we feel like we are leaving a safe harbor for the rolling sea. As for the new place, it looks on us with alien eyes, it has nothing to say to us, it is cold.”

“I know that no reader ever asks a question. A writer must force his favors upon his readers.”

“The face of the dead man was concealed, of course, our customs not being those of the south, where corpses are carried to the grave in open coffins, that they might – one last time before slipping into the pit – be warmed by the light of the sun.”

“I’ve supped on potatoes and groats and am waiting to be sick. How about you?I supped like the Lord in Heaven.’and what does the Lord in Heaven have for supper?’Nothing.”

“The Kammerlicht: Explanations of the Impressions Left Upon Various and Sundry Natures by Dreams as Interpreted According to Tribe, and of the Numbers to be Staked in Lotteries in Conformity with the Meanings of Said Dreams .. says … there are eight ‘tribes’ of dreams and of the eight only the fifth is genuine. Tribe 8 are dreams emanating directly from evil spirits. Tribe 7 are dreams granted to the virtuous as direct revelations. Tribe 6 are dreams from roots planted in disease (fever and such). Tribe 5 are dreams that come to those who have taken no food before retiring and are of a healthy & tranquil disposition.”

“No one has the right to enter literature without fresh new ideas. We’ve got too many dexterous drudges as it is.”