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Half-Truths and One-and-a-Half Truths: Selected Aphorisms
"An aphorism never coincides with the truth: it is either a half-truth or one-and-a-half truths," wrote Kraus. The aphorism was "a sub-genre [Kraus] considered the height of linguistic integrity. . . . With the help of notes and introductions by Zohn, the subtlety and archness of Kraus' linguistic gifts shine through."—Peter Filkins, Bloomsbury Review
"Kraus is a superb aphorist."—D. J. Enright, New York Review of Books
"Kraus is a superb aphorist."—D. J. Enright, New York Review of Books
135 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1976
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About the author
Karl Kraus
383 books125 followersKarl Kraus was an Austrian writer and journalist, known as a satirist, essayist, aphorist, playwright and poet. He is considered the first major European satirist since Jonathan Swift. He directed his satire to the press, German culture, and German and Austrian politics.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 27, 2020
A resident misanthrope and legendary eccentric in the early 20th cent. Vienna coffeehouses, Kraus was admired by the likes of Wittgenstein and Freud. Social satire, especially in aphoristic form, was his way of commentary on the politics and culture of his times. Besides aphorisms and essays, his legacy also rests on the massive avant-garde play about World War I The Last Days of Mankind, satirically dissecting self-destruction, war mongers and profiteers, which greatly influenced Brecht and Canetti.
Deeply seated in this period of Viennese life, his aphorisms cannot be fully appreciated without some knowledge of the artistic, cultural and political currents of the time. This makes the introductory comments by Harry Zohn, a specialist in Kraus, indispensable to contextualize many of the aphorisms in this selection. Otherwise, both the philosophy and wit behind them can be easily missed. All the same, a great many outlasted him, still speaking to the sensibilities of our times. Not sure if this reflects the endurance of his wisdom and humor or the persistence of the same societal problems even a century later.
Selecting from 3 books of aphorisms (published from 1909 through 1918), Zohn presented the entire spectrum of themes that preoccupied Kraus, from his contempt for war, political hypocrisies and public moralizing to some of his contradictory views, including his complex attitude toward women.
He didn't spare many of his favorite targets, including journalists, politicians or psychoanalysts (Freud's admiration was not apparently reciprocated).
Deeply seated in this period of Viennese life, his aphorisms cannot be fully appreciated without some knowledge of the artistic, cultural and political currents of the time. This makes the introductory comments by Harry Zohn, a specialist in Kraus, indispensable to contextualize many of the aphorisms in this selection. Otherwise, both the philosophy and wit behind them can be easily missed. All the same, a great many outlasted him, still speaking to the sensibilities of our times. Not sure if this reflects the endurance of his wisdom and humor or the persistence of the same societal problems even a century later.
Selecting from 3 books of aphorisms (published from 1909 through 1918), Zohn presented the entire spectrum of themes that preoccupied Kraus, from his contempt for war, political hypocrisies and public moralizing to some of his contradictory views, including his complex attitude toward women.
He didn't spare many of his favorite targets, including journalists, politicians or psychoanalysts (Freud's admiration was not apparently reciprocated).
The making of a journalist: no ideas and the ability to express them.And more on politics and war (World War I was the catalyst for his pacifist views):
An analyst turns man into dust. (the reference here is to psychoanalyst)
The secret of the demagogue is to appear as dumb as his audiences so that these people can believe themselves as smart as he.
War is, at first, the hope that one will be better off; next, the expectation that the other fellow will be worse off; then, the satisfaction that he isn’t any better off; and, finally, the surprise at everyone’s being worse off.On public morality, censorship, religious dogmas...
Diplomacy is a game of chess in which the nations are checkmated.
Religion, morality, and patriotism are feelings that are manifested only when they are outraged.The centrality of language in his thought about culture influenced Wittgenstein:
Insights into erotic life belong to art, not to education. But sometimes these have to be spelled out for the illiterates. And it is mainly a matter of convincing the illiterates for they are the ones who write the penal code.
Christianity has enriched the erotic meal with the appetizer of curiosity and spoiled it with the dessert of remorse.
Language is the mother of thought, not its handmaiden.The book title is taken from Kraus' definition of his favored literary sub-genre:
An aphorism never coincides with the truth: it is either a half-truth or one-and-a-half truth.
January 17, 2018
3 stars only for some really pungent aphorism!
- Psychoanalysis is that mental illness for which it regards itself as therapy.
- The psychoanalyst is a father confessor who lusts to listen also to the sins of the father.
- Christian morality prefers remorse to precede lust, and then lust not to follow.
- Psychoanalysis is that mental illness for which it regards itself as therapy.
- The psychoanalyst is a father confessor who lusts to listen also to the sins of the father.
- Christian morality prefers remorse to precede lust, and then lust not to follow.
June 23, 2019
I was disappointed in this book. It has been sitting on my bookshelf for years, and I decided to read it a few days ago because I wanted a short book to read before starting one that would take longer to read. I expected to be amused by the author's aphorisms. There were a few that I did find amusing, but overall I found the book to have a very negative tone. Perhaps if I could read German, I would have enjoyed the original writing. I'm sure something was lost in the translation.
April 19, 2018
Algunos muestran un ejercicio intelectual muy profundo, en otros el ejercicio es meramente retórico sin dejar de ser impecable. Muy autorreferencial, beligerante, de gran circularismo en sus apartes más extensos, Kraus pretende invitar al lector a indagar en su visión de mundo y que proceda a diseccionar cual cirujano palabra por palabra para encontrar el significado de cada uno de sus aforismos así como hayar el pH de acidez, presente de manera más patente en unos más que en otros.
August 30, 2015
Kraus was a satirist of Viennese culture in the first third of the 20th century. Wittgenstein was a great fan of his, which is why I know about him. While I "shelved" this book under "Humor," that would have to include black humor. He generally made fun of things, which wasn't necessarily funny. He operated much like Jon Stewart--using direct quotes from people to show their absurdity or hypocrisy. This book, however, is a collection of his aphorisms. This is a style that influenced Wittgenstein, but is also suited to making Kraus's points sometimes.
Here are some examples:
(p. 55): "My writings must be read twice if one is to get close to them. But I don't object to their being read three times. However, I prefer their not being read at all to their being read only once. I would not want to be responsible for the congestions of a blockhead who has no time…..One must read all writers twice--the good as well as the bad. The one kind will be recognized; the other, unmasked." (Just to be clear, this is the 2nd time I read this collection--originally I read it several years ago, before I started recording my reading on Goodreads.)
(p. 56): "My request that my readings be read twice has aroused great indignation. Unjustly so. After all, I do not ask that they be read once."
(p. 57): "There are writers who can express in as little as twenty pages what I occasionally need as many as two for."
(p. 66): "Someone who can write aphorisms should not fritter away his time writing essays."
(p. 67): "An aphorism never coincides with the truth: it is either a half-truth or one-and-a-half truths."
(p. 73): "The making of a journalist: no ideas and the ability to express them."
(p. 75): "I can say with pride that I have spent days and nights not reading anything, and that with unflagging energy I use every free moment to acquire gradually an encyclopedic lack of education."
(p. 81): "How is the world ruled and led to war? Diplomats lie to journalists and believe these lies when they see them in print." (Sounds like the lead-up to the Iraq war.)
(p. 113): "The secret of a demagogue is to appear as dumb as his audience so that these people can believe themselves as smart as he." (Sounds like Trump.)
Much of Kraus's writing seemed inaccessible to modern English-speakers, partly b/c his German language was so inextricably tied into his commentary, and partly b/c his commentary was about cultural topics seemingly peculiar to Vienna at the turn of the century. So I have to close my review with this comment (p. 34): "My readers think I write for the day because my writings are based on the day. So I shall have to wait until my writings are obsolete. Then they may acquire timeliness." (Indeed.)
Here are some examples:
(p. 55): "My writings must be read twice if one is to get close to them. But I don't object to their being read three times. However, I prefer their not being read at all to their being read only once. I would not want to be responsible for the congestions of a blockhead who has no time…..One must read all writers twice--the good as well as the bad. The one kind will be recognized; the other, unmasked." (Just to be clear, this is the 2nd time I read this collection--originally I read it several years ago, before I started recording my reading on Goodreads.)
(p. 56): "My request that my readings be read twice has aroused great indignation. Unjustly so. After all, I do not ask that they be read once."
(p. 57): "There are writers who can express in as little as twenty pages what I occasionally need as many as two for."
(p. 66): "Someone who can write aphorisms should not fritter away his time writing essays."
(p. 67): "An aphorism never coincides with the truth: it is either a half-truth or one-and-a-half truths."
(p. 73): "The making of a journalist: no ideas and the ability to express them."
(p. 75): "I can say with pride that I have spent days and nights not reading anything, and that with unflagging energy I use every free moment to acquire gradually an encyclopedic lack of education."
(p. 81): "How is the world ruled and led to war? Diplomats lie to journalists and believe these lies when they see them in print." (Sounds like the lead-up to the Iraq war.)
(p. 113): "The secret of a demagogue is to appear as dumb as his audience so that these people can believe themselves as smart as he." (Sounds like Trump.)
Much of Kraus's writing seemed inaccessible to modern English-speakers, partly b/c his German language was so inextricably tied into his commentary, and partly b/c his commentary was about cultural topics seemingly peculiar to Vienna at the turn of the century. So I have to close my review with this comment (p. 34): "My readers think I write for the day because my writings are based on the day. So I shall have to wait until my writings are obsolete. Then they may acquire timeliness." (Indeed.)
September 28, 2016
Sometimes, Kraus just appears to be this lonesome loner, loathing the legions and serieses of L's and ill-locations of grammar. Sabi nya somewhere here: I and my public understand each other very well: it does not hear what I say and I don't say what it wants to hear." Also: "I trim my opponents to fit my arrows." How out of his mind is he? Is he too out of his mind that perhaps -- alam mo 'yun, di nya lang alam -- he's really inside his mind?
Both the weakness and strength of aphorisms, this cough of its length: at times, his aphorisms will oversimplify; sometimes, they are short and long enough to be substantive, to make you and me ponder. Sabi nya here for instance: "he who expresses opinions must not let himself be caught in a contradiction. He who has ideas thinks amidst contradictions as well." Also: "Truth is a clumsy servant that breaks the dishes while washing them."
Minsan, Kraus will give us truths, and we must be wise to expect these to be broken -- and even wiser still, that being broken only make them all the more true.
Both the weakness and strength of aphorisms, this cough of its length: at times, his aphorisms will oversimplify; sometimes, they are short and long enough to be substantive, to make you and me ponder. Sabi nya here for instance: "he who expresses opinions must not let himself be caught in a contradiction. He who has ideas thinks amidst contradictions as well." Also: "Truth is a clumsy servant that breaks the dishes while washing them."
Minsan, Kraus will give us truths, and we must be wise to expect these to be broken -- and even wiser still, that being broken only make them all the more true.
November 30, 2013
Well, it felt like a great introduction. Pithy, biting, smart, sarcastic. What's not to like? I've been waiting for more Kraus to be available, but then, alas, when it finally arrived it had Franzen's ego all over it. So I opted for this fun, quick intro instead. And now I recommend it to you.
May 13, 2009
"Love and art do not embrace what is beautiful but what is made beautiful by this embrace."
He's that true. That good. And the best moral I've ever heard.
He's that true. That good. And the best moral I've ever heard.
March 9, 2010
Much better translation than the recent one by Jonathan McVity for University of Illinois.
September 3, 2015
Everybody else was talking quietly but he heard their screams...
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews