Erich Maria Remarque Quotes - Page 2

... We had suddenly learned to see. And we saw that there was nothing of their world left. We were all at once terribly alone; and alone we must see it through.

We know only that in some strange and melancholy way we have become a waste land. All the same, we are not often sad.

Beside us lies a fair-headed recruit in utter terror. He has buried his face in his hands, his helmet has fallen off. I fish hold of it and try to put it back on his head. He looks up, pushes the helmet off and like a child creeps under my arm, his head close to my breast. The little shoulders heave. Shoulders just like Kemmerich's. I let him be.

Bombardment, barrage, curtain-fire, mines, gas, tanks, machine-guns, hand-grenades - words, words, but they hold the horror of the world.

We lie under the network of arching shells and live in a suspense of uncertainty. If a shot comes, we can duck, that is all; we neither know nor can determine where it will fall."
- All Quiet On The Western Front, Ch. 6

The first bombardment showed us our mistake, and under it the world as they had taught it to us broke in pieces.

Obuze, mitraliere, aburi de gaze, flotile de tancuri - strivire, devorare, moarte.

This book is to be neither an accusation nor a confession, and least of all an adventure, for death is not an adventure to those who stand face to face with it. It will try simply to tell of a generation of men who, even though they may have escaped shells, were destroyed by the war.

We have lost all sense of other considerations, because they are artificial. Only the facts are real and important to us. And good boots are hard to come by."
- All Quiet On The Western Front, Ch. 2

Through the years our business has been killing;-it was our first calling in life. Our knowledge of lif eis limited to death.

I realize he does not know that a man cannot talk of such things; I would do it willingly, but it is too dangerous for me to put these things into words. I am afraid they might then become gigantic and I be no longer able to master them. What would become of us if everything that happens out there were quite clear to us?

There were thousands of Kantoreks, all of whom were convinced that they were acting for the best - in a way that cost them nothing. And that is why they let us down so badly.

I always thought everyone was against war until I found out there are those who are all for it, especially those who do not have to go there.

It's not much. You begin by thinking there is something extraordinary about it. But you'll find out, when you've been out in the world a while longer, unhappiness is the commonest thing there is.

A man can gasp out his life beside you-and you feel none of it. Pity, Sympathy, sure-but you don't feel the pain. Your belly is whole and that's what counts. A half-yard away someone's world is snuffled out in roaring agony-and you feel nothing. That's the misery of the world.

Pasaulis niekada neatrodo toks gražus, kaip tą akimirką, kaii jį paliekame, kai jums atima laisvę

Love should not be polluted with friendship.

The wisest were just the poor and simple people. They knew the war to be a misfortune, whereas those who were better off, and should have been able to see more clearly what the consequences would be, were beside themselves with joy.

У меня нет будущего. Не иметь будущего - это почти то же, что не подчиняться земным закон%

He’s afraid," Graber said.

"Yes, naturally. But he’s a good dog."

"And a man-eater."

"We’re all that."

"Why?"

"We are. And we think, just like that dog, that we are still good. And just like him we are looking for a bit of warmth and light and friendship.