Quotes from Measuring the World

Daniel Kehlmann ·  259 pages

Rating: (9.5K votes)


“That was the moment when he grasped that nobody wanted to use their minds. People wanted peace. They wanted to eat and sleep and have other people be nice to them. What they didn't want to do was think.”
― Daniel Kehlmann, quote from Measuring the World


“Whenever things were frightening, it was a good idea to measure them.”
― Daniel Kehlmann, quote from Measuring the World


“Inzwischen geht es ihm besser, manche Tage seien schon fieberfrei, auch die Träume, in denen er Baron Humboldt erwürge, zerhacke, erschieße, anzünde, vergifte oder unter Steinen begrabe, würden seltener.”
― Daniel Kehlmann, quote from Measuring the World


“Man hat uns früh eingeredet, dass ein Leben Publikum benötigt.”
― Daniel Kehlmann, quote from Measuring the World


“Ich habe herausgefunden, dass der Mensch bereit ist, Unbill zu erfahren, aber viel Erkenntnis entgeht ihm, weil er den Schmerz fürchtet.”
― Daniel Kehlmann, quote from Measuring the World



“Insa, cand au trecut de primele suburbii ale Berlinului si Humboldt si-a inchipuit cum Gauss a cercetat corpurile ceresti prin telescopul sau in tot acest timp - corpuri ceresti ale caror orbite pot fi descrise in formule simple -, n-a mai fost in stare sa spuna care dintre ei doi a ramas acasa si care a colindat lumea.”
― Daniel Kehlmann, quote from Measuring the World


“Den Hunde, sagte Bonpland, habe er nie leiden können.”
― Daniel Kehlmann, quote from Measuring the World


“Links, sagte Humboldt.
Wieso links, fragte Bonpland.
Also rechts, sagte Humboldt.
Aber warum rechts?
Zum Teufel, rief Humboldt, jetzt werde es ihm zu blöd.”
― Daniel Kehlmann, quote from Measuring the World


“Seltsam sei es und ungerecht, sagte Gauß, so recht ein Beispiel für die erbärmliche Zufälligkeit der Existenz, dass man in einer bestimmten Zeit geboren und ihr verhaftet sei, ob man wolle oder nicht. Es verschaffe einem einen unziemlichen Vorteil vor der Vergangenheit und mache einen zum Clown der Zukunft. [...] Sogar ein Verstand wie der seine, sagte Gauß, hätte in frühen Menschheitsaltern oder an den Ufern des Orinoko nichts zu leisten vermocht, wohingegen jeder Dummkopf in zweihundert Jahren sich über ihn lustig machen und absurden Unsinn über seine Person erfinden könne.”
― Daniel Kehlmann, quote from Measuring the World


“Gauß kam auf den Zufall zu sprechen, den Feind allen Wissens, den er immer habe besiegen wollen. Aus der Nähe betrachtet, sehe man hinter jedem Ereignis die unendliche Feinheit des Kausalgewebes. Trete man weit genug zurück, offenbarten sich die großen Muster. Freiheit und Zufall seien eine Frage der mittleren Entfernung, eine Sache des Abstands...”
― Daniel Kehlmann, quote from Measuring the World



“Aici nu există mai devreme sau mai târziu... aici există doar muncă, asta facem aici.”
― Daniel Kehlmann, quote from Measuring the World


“Seltsam sei es und ungerecht, sagte Gauß, so recht ein Beispiel für die erbärmliche Zufälligkeit der Existenz, dass man in einer bestimmten Zeit geboren und ihr verhaftet sei, ob man wolle oder nicht. Es verschaffe einem einen unziemlichen Vorteil vor der Vergangenheit und mache einen zum Clown der Zukunft.”
― Daniel Kehlmann, quote from Measuring the World


“Žena je imala tanane, prilično izvijene obrve. Haljina joj je otkrivala leđa i Gaus se pitao kako bi bilo pritisnuti usne na njih.”
― Daniel Kehlmann, quote from Measuring the World


“Man hat uns früh eingeschärft, dass ein Leben Publikum benötigt.”
― Daniel Kehlmann, quote from Measuring the World


About the author

Daniel Kehlmann
Born place: in Munich, Germany
Born date January 13, 1975
See more on GoodReads

Popular quotes

“Pervitin became a symptom of the developing performance society. Boxed chocolates spiked with methamphetamine were even put on the market. A good 14 milligrams of methamphetamine was included in each individual portion—almost five times the amount in a Pervitin pill. “Hildebrand chocolates are always a delight” was the slogan of this potent confectionery. The recommendation was to eat between three and nine of these, with the indication that they were, unlike caffeine, perfectly safe.”
― quote from Blitzed: Drugs in Nazi Germany


“To be understood is to prostitute oneself”
― Fernando Pessoa, quote from Poems of Fernando Pessoa


“Isobel. Isobel, listen. The teapot is of no consequence. I can defeat anyone, at any time.”
― Margaret Rogerson, quote from An Enchantment of Ravens


“By having less and doing more, we will be happier, healthier, richer, in every sense: less clutter, less regret, less anxiety, more meaning, more flow, more intrinsic enjoyment, better conversations, more connections, a healthier take on status, and a stronger sense of belonging.”
― James Wallman, quote from Stuffocation: Living More with Less


“Shortly after we met, my mother died. That day at her funeral, he stood beside me, I knew he was my angel. "Why are you crying?" I said, watching him wipe his eyes. "Why you are not crying?" he said. "Your mother is dead. You are daughter with no mother. I love you. Of course I cry.”
― Mira T. Lee, quote from Everything Here Is Beautiful


Interesting books

The Austere Academy
(110.4K)
The Austere Academy
by Lemony Snicket
The Black Dagger Brotherhood: An Insider's Guide
(27.9K)
The Black Dagger Bro...
by J.R. Ward
Driven
(46.8K)
Driven
by K. Bromberg
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong
(42.7K)
Lies My Teacher Told...
by James W. Loewen
Collected Poems, 1909-1962
(18.2K)
Collected Poems, 190...
by T.S. Eliot
Sweet Peril
(41.7K)
Sweet Peril
by Wendy Higgins

About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.