Quote

The work of bestial degradation, begun by the victorious Germans, had been carried to its conclusion by the Germans in defeat.

Primo Levi

Change background

T
T
T

Change font

TAGS & TOPICS

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
Degradation
Begun
Carried
Conclusion
Defeat
Work
Bestial
Victorious
Germans

More quotes by Primo Levi

Image
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
Image
Perhaps Kafka laughed when he told stories [. . . ] because one isn't always equal to oneself.
Primo Levi
Image
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.
Primo Levi
Image
I am constantly amazed by man's inhumanity to man.
Primo Levi
Image
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
Image
I too entered the Lager as a nonbeliever, and as a nonbeliever I was liberated and have lived to this day.
Primo Levi
Image
The living are more demanding the dead can wait.
Primo Levi
Image
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.
Primo Levi
Image
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
Image
The sea's only gifts are harsh blows and, occasionally, the chance to feel strong.
Primo Levi
Image
I live in my house as I live inside my skin: I know more beautiful, more ample, more sturdy and more picturesque skins: but it would seem to me unnatural to exchange them for mine.
Primo Levi
Image
Everybody is somebody's Jew.
Primo Levi
Image
There is Auschwitz, and so there cannot be God.
Primo Levi
Image
Each of us bears the imprint of a friend met along the way In each the trace of each.
Primo Levi
Image
Perfection belongs to narrated events, not to those we live.
Primo Levi
Image
He could hardly read or write but his heart spoke the language of the good
Primo Levi
Image
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
Image
The aims of life are the best defense against death.
Primo Levi
Image
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
Image
We will not return No one must leave here and so carry to the world, together with the sign impressed on his skin, the evil tidings of what man's presumption made of man in Auschwitz
Primo Levi