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The sea's only gifts are harsh blows and, occasionally, the chance to feel strong.

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
Feel
Blows
Feels
Occasionally
Harsh
Gifts
Blow
Sea
Chance
Strong

More quotes by Primo Levi

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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.)
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He could hardly read or write but his heart spoke the language of the good
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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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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.
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Perhaps Kafka laughed when he told stories [. . . ] because one isn't always equal to oneself.
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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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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.
Primo Levi
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I am not even alive enough to know how to kill myself
Primo Levi
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The living are more demanding the dead can wait.
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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.
Primo Levi
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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.
Primo Levi
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The aims of life are the best defense against death.
Primo Levi
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Dawn came on us like a betrayer it seemed as though the new sun rose as an ally of our enemies to assist in our destruction.
Primo Levi
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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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To give a name to a thing is as gratifying as giving a name to an island, but it is also dangerous: the danger consists in one's becoming convinced that all is taken care of and that once named, the phenomenon has also been explained.
Primo Levi
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A man who would mutilate himself is well damned, isn't he?
Primo Levi
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There is Auschwitz, and so there cannot be God.
Primo Levi
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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