The Last of the Just Quotes

“It is night at the front, a shadow, a shot. The Jew who has just fired
hears a moan...
"And then, mother, the hair stands up on his head, for only a few feet from him in the darkness the enemy voice is reciting in Hebrew the prayer of the dying. Ai, God, the soldier has cut down a Jewish brother! Ai, misery! He drops his rifle and runs into no man's land, insane with shame and grief. Insane, you understand? The enemy fires at him, his comrades shout at him to come back. But he refuses; he stays in no man's land and dies. Ai, misery, ai...!”
― Andre Schwarz-Bart, The Last of the Just

“If you ground up a Levy in a mortar, . . . amid the grains on the pestle would be their gentleness.”
― André Schwarz-Bart, The Last of the Just

“Parfois, il est vrai, le coeur veut crever de chagrin. Mais souvent aussi, le soir de préférence, je ne puis m'empêcher de penser qu'Ernie Levy, mort six millions de fois, est encore vivant, quelque part, je ne sais où... Hier, comme je tremblais de désespoir au milieu de la rue, cloué au sol, une goutte de pitié tomba d'en haut sur mon visage; mais il n'y avait nul souffle dans l'air, aucun nuage dans le ciel... il n'y avait qu'une présence.”
― André Schwarz-Bart, Le Dernier des justes (Collector 50 ans) (Points)

“for the rich pity only each other, no?”
― André Schwarz-Bart, The Last of the Just

“Man, strip off thy garments, cover thy head with ashes, run into the streets and dance in thy madness.”
― André Schwarz-Bart, The Last of the Just

“But after all, dear Mr. Goldfaden," he went on, chilled by fear, "if God did not exist, what would you and I be?"
The old man offered a compassionate smile, and his voice sought vainly for the lost tone of gaiety. "Poor little Jewish men, no?”
― André Schwarz-Bart, The Last of the Just

“— Ну, ну, — ответил дед нежно, — как ты уйдешь от зла, если оно повсюду? Это был 1933 год от пришествия в мир Иисуса Христа, доброго вестника неосуществимой любви.”
― André Schwarz-Bart, The Last of the Just