Quote

The bond between a man and his profession is similar to that which ties him to his country it is just as complex, often ambivalent, and in general it is understood completely only when it is broken: by exile or emigration in the case of one's country, by retirement in the case of a trade or profession.

Primo Levi

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Primo Levi
Age: 67 †
Born: 1919
Born: July 31
Died: 1987
Died: April 11
Author
Autobiographer
Chemist
Novelist
Philosopher
Poet
Politician
Science Fiction Writer
Writer
Turin
Italy
Men
General
Retirement
Understood
Ties
Completely
Similar
Broken
Complexes
Military
Complex
Emigration
Cases
Profession
Ambivalent
Often
Trade
Exile
Country
Case
Bond

More quotes by Primo Levi

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Nothing can be said: nothing sure, nothing probable, nothing honest. Better to err through omission than through commission: better to refrain from steering the fate of others, since it is already so difficult to navigate one's own.
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Each of us bears the imprint of a friend met along the way In each the trace of each.
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I too entered the Lager as a nonbeliever, and as a nonbeliever I was liberated and have lived to this day.
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Imagine now a man who is deprived of everyone he loves, and at the same time of his house, his habits, his clothes, in short, of everything he possesses: he will be a hollow man, reduced to suffering and needs, forgetful of dignity and restraint, for he who loses all often loses himself.
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Anyone who has obeyed nature by transmitting a piece of gossip experiences the explosive relief that accompanies the satisfying of a primary need.
Primo Levi
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The sea's only gifts are harsh blows and, occasionally, the chance to feel strong.
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It is the duty of righteous men to make war on all undeserved privilege, but one must not forget that this is a war without end.
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The work of bestial degradation, begun by the victorious Germans, had been carried to its conclusion by the Germans in defeat.
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Those who deny Auschwitz would be ready to remake it.
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Today I think that if for no other reason than that an Auschwitz existed, no one in our age should speak of Providence.
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I am constantly amazed by man's inhumanity to man.
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Perhaps Kafka laughed when he told stories [. . . ] because one isn't always equal to oneself.
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It is this refrain that we hear repeated by everyone: you are not at home, this is not a sanatorium, the only exit is by way of the Chimney. (What did it mean? Soon we were all to learn what it meant.)
Primo Levi
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The living are more demanding the dead can wait.
Primo Levi
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If it is true that there is no greater sorrow than to remember a happy time in a state of misery, it is just as true that calling up a moment of anguish in a tranquil mood, seated quietly at one's desk, is a source of profound satisfaction.
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Monsters exist, but they are too few in numbers to be truly dangerous. More dangerous are…the functionaries ready to believe and act without asking questions.
Primo Levi
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We collected in a group in front of their door, and we experienced within ourselves a grief that was new for us, the ancient grief of the people that has no land, the grief without hope of the exodus which is renewed in every century.
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To destroy a man is difficult, almost as difficult as to create one: it has not been easy, nor quick, but you Germans have succeeded. Here we are, docile under your gaze from our side you have nothing more to fear no acts of violence, no words of defiance, not even a look of judgment.
Primo Levi
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He could hardly read or write but his heart spoke the language of the good
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A man who would mutilate himself is well damned, isn't he?
Primo Levi