62
" Moraš učestvovati u igri“, rekao je Ivan. „U tome je sva mudrost življenja. Moraš lagati. Čini ti se da drugi znaju šta misliš, ali upamti, nijedan čovek ne zna šta drugi misle. Ljudske se misli ne mogu čitati. Čini ti se da drugi znaju šta misliš, ali to nije istina.“
„Ne znam o čemu pričaš.“
„To je pravi odmor. Posmatraj, izvedi pravila. Ljudi su retko spontani, u najveće broju slučajeva ponašaju se kao mašine. Sve što rade, rade iz navike. Moraš da ustanoviš pravila, a onda da ih se pridržavaš, kao da ti život zavisi od toga. Jer to je istina. Život zavisi od toga. "
― Daniel Kehlmann , F
66
" Hüttner showed him the squares, spells, and potent herbs, and Claus hung on every word when Hüttner spoke to him of the Little People and the Big People and the Ancient Ones and the People of the Earthly Depths and the Spirits of the Air and the fact that you couldn’t trust the scholars, for they knew nothing, but they wouldn’t admit it, lest they fall out of favor with their princes, and when Claus moved on after the thaw, he had three books from Hüttner’s collection in his bag. At the time he had not yet known how to read, but a pastor in Augsburg whom he cured of rheumatism taught him, and when he moved on, he took with him three books from the pastor’s library too. All the books were heavy; a dozen of them filled the bag like lead. Soon it became clear to him that he either had to leave the books behind or else settle down somewhere, ideally in a hidden place away from the big roads, for books are expensive and not every owner had parted with his voluntarily, and by a stroke of ill fortune Hüttner himself could suddenly appear outside his door, put a curse on him, and demand back what belonged to him. "
― Daniel Kehlmann , Tyll
67
" On the far end of the village square is a fence. After you open the gate and cross the large field, which also belongs to Steger, you’re in the forest again, and if you’re not too afraid of the Cold Woman and keep going, in three hours you will be in the next village, which is not much bigger.
There, however, the boy has never been. He has never been elsewhere. And although several people who have been elsewhere before have told him that it’s exactly the same there as here, he can’t stop wondering where you would end up if you just kept going on and on, not merely to the next village, but farther and farther still. "
― Daniel Kehlmann , Tyll