Karl Kraus Quotes

An aphorism ought to be entirely isolated from the surrounding world like a little work of art and complete in itself like a hedgehog.

A proverb is much matter distilled into few words.

The art of newspaper paragraphing is to stroke a platitude until it purrs like an epigram.

A fine quotation is a diamond in the hand of a man of wit and a pebble in the hand of a fool.

A witty saying proves nothing.

As it is the characteristic of great wits to say much in few words, so small wits seem to have the gift of speaking much and saying nothing.

I'm going to make a long speech because I've not had the time to prepare a short one.

Most writers write too much. I have the exact opposite problem. I feel I could write almost anything in a paragraph. I have a natural ability to condense, and so I often think, "Are you kidding me? Five thousand words? How am I gonna make 5,000 words out of that?"

In an aphorism, aptness counts for more than truth.

Brevity is the soul of wit.

You know what writers say about their long books: If I had another year, the book would be half as long.

You know that I write slowly. This is chiefly because I am never satisfied until I have said as much as possible in a few words, and writing briefly takes far more time than writing at length.

A short saying often contains much wisdom.

I also try to think of ways to articulate the joke more economically.

It is my ambition to say in ten sentences what others say in a whole book.

If you consistently write 'The sun set' rather than 'The sun sank slowly in the bright western sky,' your story will move three times as fast. Of course, there are times you want the longer version for atmosphere - but not many. Wordiness not only kills pace; it bores readers.

My purpose in public address and in speech is really encapsulated in three C's: clear, concise, correct. No overblowing rhetoric or anything like that. As simple as possible: clear, concise, correct.

If I write something down, it's normally just a sharp one-liner.

One mistake with beginners in writing is, that they think it important to spin out something long. It is a great deal better not to write more than a page or two, unless you have something to say, and can write it correctly.

I tend to write short, brief snippets - I lean toward the chamber music end as opposed to the symphony end of things.

An aphorism is true where it has fixed the impression of a genuine experience.

Wordiness is a sickness of American writing. Too many words dilute and blur ideas.

I'm obsessed with proverbs because, to me, flexing is being able to say the most with the least amount of words.

I can be just as effective with a quick retort or a one-liner than with a big paragraph.