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The Struggle Between God And Man Breaks Out In Everyone, Together With The Longing For Reconciliation. Most Often This Struggle Is Unconscious And Short-lived. A Weak Soul Does Not Have The Endurance To Resist The Flesh For Very Long. It Grows Heavy, Becomes Flesh Itself, And The Contest Ends. But Among Responsible Men, Men Who Keep Their Eyes Riveted Day And Night Upon The Supreme Duty, The Conflict Between Flesh And Spirit Breaks Out Mercilessly And May Last Until Death.

-Nikos Kazantzakis

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The Struggle Between God

Nikos Kazantzakis

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The Struggle Between God And Man Breaks Out In Everyone, Together With The Longing For Reconciliation. Most Often This Struggle Is Unconscious And Short-lived. A Weak Soul Does Not Have The Endurance To Resist The Flesh For Very Long. It Grows Heavy, Becomes Flesh Itself, And The Contest Ends. But Among Responsible Men, Men Who Keep Their Eyes Riveted Day And Night Upon The Supreme Duty, The Conflict Between Flesh And Spirit Breaks Out Mercilessly And May Last Until Death.

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We Are Not Men, To Have Need Of Another, An Eternal Life; We Are Women, And For Us One Moment With Man We Love Is Everlasting Paradise, One Moment Far From The Man We Love Is Everlasting Hell. It Is Here On Earth That We Women Love Out Eternity

No! No! Never Acknowledge The Limitations Of Man. Smash All Boundaries! Deny Whatever Your Eyes See. Die Every Moment, But Say: Death Does Not Exist.'

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Every Man Has His Folly, But The Greatest Folly Of All … Is Not To Have One.

You Can Knock On A Deaf Man's Door Forever.

Within This Arena, Which Grows More Stable Night After Day, Generations Work And Love And Hope And Vanish. New Generations Tread On The Corpses Of Their Fathers, Continue The Work Above The Abyss And Struggle To Tame The Dread Mystery. How? By Cultivating A Single Field, By Kissing A Woman, By Studying A Stone, An Animal, An Idea.

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I Collect My Tools: Sight, Smell, Touch, Taste, Hearing, Intellect. Night Has Fallen.

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To Succeed, You Must First Believe You Can.

The Canary Is Like A Man's Soul. It Sees Bars Around It, But Instead Of Despairing, It Sings.

I Possess No Weapon But Love. With That I Have Come To Do Battle. Help Me!

The Only Thing I Know Is This: I Am Full Of Wounds And Still Standing On My Feet.

Die Every Day. Be Reborn Again Every Day.

Whoever Climbed The Lord's Mountain Had To Possess Clean Hands And An Innocent Heart; Otherwise The Summit Would Kill Him. Today The Doorway Is Deserted. Soiled Hands And Sinful Hearts Are Able To Pass By Without Fear, For The Summit Kills No Longer.

There Is Only One Woman In The World. One Woman, With Many Faces.

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The Struggle Between God And Man Breaks Out In Everyone, Together With The Longing For Reconciliation. Most Often This Struggle Is Unconscious And Short-lived. A Weak Soul Does Not Have The Endurance To Resist The Flesh For Very Long. It Grows Heavy, Becomes Flesh Itself, And The Contest Ends. But Among Responsible Men, Men Who Keep Their Eyes Riveted Day And Night Upon The Supreme Duty, The Conflict Between Flesh And Spirit Breaks Out Mercilessly And May Last Until Death.

When Shall I At Last Retire Into Solitude Alone, Without Companions, Without Joy And Without Sorrow, With Only The Sacred Certainty That All Is A Dream? When, In My Rags—without Desires—shall I Retire Contented Into The Mountains? When, Seeing That My Body Is Merely Sickness And Crime, Age And Death, Shall I—free, Fearless, And Blissful—retire To The Forest? When? When, Oh When?

How Does The Light Of A Star Set Out And Plunge Into Black Eternity In Its Immortal Course? The Star Dies, But The Light Never Dies; Such Also Is The Cry Of Freedom.

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Reach What You Cannot

Two Equally Steep And Bold Paths May Lead To The Same Peak. To Act As If Death Did Not Exist, Or To Act Thinking Every Minute Of Death, Is Perhaps The Same Thing.

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Everything In This World Has A Hidden Meaning.

Beauty Always Had A Purpose: To Be Of Service To Life.

We're Going To Start With Small, Easy Things; Then, Little By Little We Shall Try Our Hand At The Big Things. And After That, After We Finish The Big Things, We Shall Undertake The Impossible.

May He Be Cursed On Earth Who Gives His Trust To Virtue, That Bankrupt Crone Who Takes Our Life's Pure Gold And Gives But Bad Receipts For Payment In The Lower World. Ah, Passers-by That Stroll, Travelers That Come And Go, All That I Had, I Placed On Virtue, And Lost The Game!

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You Gave Me Your Curse, Holy Fathers. I Give You A Blessing: May You Be As Moral And Religious As I Am.

Since We Cannot Change Reality, Let Us Change The Eyes Which See Reality," Says One Of My Favorite Byzantine Mystics. I Did This When A Child; I Do It Now As Well In The Most Creative Moments Of My Life.

Overdraw Me, Lord, And Who Cares If I Break.

I've Stopped Thinking All The Time Of What Happened Yesterday. And Stopped Asking What's Going To Happen Tomorrow. What's Happening Today, This Minute, Is What I Care About.

Since We Cannot Change Reality, Let Us Change The Eyes Which See Reality.

By Believing Passionately In Something That Still Does Not Exist, We Create It. The Nonexistent Is Whatever We Have Not Sufficiently Desired.

True Teachers Are Those Who Use Themselves As Bridges Over Which They Invite Their Students To Cross; Then, Having Facilitated Their Crossing, Joyfully Collapse, Encouraging Them To Create Their Own.

The Only Way To Save Yourself Is To Endeavor To Save Others.

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He Who Is Invisible Sees More Clearly, Hears More Clearly, And Is Better Able To Read The Thoughts Of Men.

Good Lord, How Can The Rich Bear To Die?

Three Kinds Of Souls, Three Prayers: 1) I Am A Bow In Your Hands, Lord. Draw Me, Lest I Rot. 2) Do Not Overdraw Me, Lord. I Shall Break. 3) Overdraw Me, Lord, And Who Cares If I Break.

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Only After I've Seen The Visible Can I Imagine What The Invisible Is.

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Happy Is The Man, I Thought, Who, Before Dying, Has The Good Fortune To Sail The Aegean Sea.

Ah, If You Could Dance All That You've Just Said, Then I'd Understand.

Thus Night With All Her Snares Passed Through The Upper World And Baited All Heads Sweetly, Fed All Foolish Hopes, For Night Can Bring To Men All Shrewish Day Denies, Wrapped As A Gift In The Green Leaves Of Opiate Dream.

Never In My Life Have I Feared Death As Much As I Feared That Resurrection.

You Do Miracles If You Concentrate Your Mind On One Thing And One Thing Only.

Happy The Youth Who Believes That His Duty Is To Remake The World And Bring It More In Accord With Virtue And Justice, More In Accord With His Own Heart. Woe To Whoever Commences His Life Without Lunacy.

Every Village Has Its Simpleton, And If One Does Not Exist They Invent One To Pass The Time.

Every Obstacle In His Journey Became A Milestone, An Occasion For Further Triumph. We Have A Model In Front Of Us Now, A Model Who Blazes Our Trail And Gives Us Strength.

All Roads Lead To The Earth; The Abyss Leads To God. Jump!

A Slave's Soul Has No Worth, My Brothers; It Lacks Strength To Tread On This Great Earth With Gallantry And Freedom. I Pity The Poor Slaves, They're Nought But Airy Mist, A Light Breeze Scatters Them, A Fragrance Knocks Them Down; It's Only Just They Crawl On The Earth On Hands And Knees. Today I'll Write A Hymn To God And Pray For This Great Grace.

Lord, Bend Me, Or I Shall Rot. Lord Do Not Bend Me Too Much, For I Shall Break. Lord Bend Me Too Much, Who Cares If I Break!

When Everything Goes Wrong, What A Joy To Test Your Soul And See If It Has Endurance And Courage! An Invisible And All-powerful Enemy—some Call Him God, Others The Devil, Seem To Rush Upon Us To Destroy Us; But We Are Not Destroyed.

God, What Is All This Talk Put Out By The Popes? Paradise Is Here, My Good Man. God, Give Me No Other Paradise!

We Have Our Brush And Colors - Paint Paradise And In We Go.

Go As Far As You Can. Go Further Than You Can!

What, Then Is Our Duty? It Is To Carefully Distinguish The Historic Moment In Which We Live And To Consciously Assign Our Small Energies To A Specific Battlefield. The More We Are In Phase With The Current Which Leads The Way, The More We Aid Man In His Difficult, Uncertain, Danger-fraught Ascent Toward Salvation.

Be Sure To Live Up To Your Reputation For Honesty And Goodness, Because Many Souls Who Believe You To Be Honest And Good Have Placed Themselves In Your Hands.

As I Watched The Seagulls, I Thought, That's The Road To Take; Find The Absolute Rhythm And Follow It With Absolute Trust.

There Is Only One Sin God Will Not Forgive Boss, And That Is To Deny A Woman Who Is In Wanting ~ Zorba

I Hope For Nothing. I Fear Nothing. I Am Free. Inscription On Kazantakis's Tomb In Heraklion, Greece

The Heart Unites Whatever The Mind Separates, Pushes On Beyond The Arena Of Necessity And Transmutes The Struggle Into Love.

Discipline Is The Highest Of All Virtues. Only So May Strength And Desire Be Counterbalanced And The Endeavors Of Man Bear Fruit.

Once More There Sounded Within Me The Terrible Warning That There Is Only One Life For All Men, That There Is Only One Life For All Men, That There Is No Other And That All That Can Be Enjoyed Must Be Enjoyed Here. In Eternity No Other Chance Will Be Given To Us.

It Doesn't Matter Whether Or Not You Have A Head, You Must Wear The Right Sort Of Hat

I Said To The Almond Tree, 'sister, Speak To Me Of God.' And The Almond Tree Blossomed.

O Sun, Great Oriental, My Proud Mind's Golden Cap, I Love To Wear You Cocked Askew, To Play And Burst In Song Throughout Our Lives, And So Rejoice Our Hearts.

You Have Your Brush, You Have Your Colors, You Paint The Paradise, Then In You Go.

I Am A Weak, Ephemeral Creature Made Of Mud And Dream. But I Feel All The Powers Of The Universe Whirling Within Me.

When I Encounter A Sunrise, A Painting, A Woman, Or An Idea That Makes My Heart Bound Like A Young Calf, Then I Know I Am Standing In Front Of Happiness.

If Only We Know, Boss, What The Stones And Rain And Flowers Say. Maybe They Call-call Us-and We Don't Hear Them. When Will People's Ears Open, Boss? When Shall We Have Our Eyes Open To See? When Shall We Open Our Arms To Embrace Everything-stones, Rain, Flowers, And People? What Do You Think About That, Boss? And What Do Your Books Have To Say About That?

Truly, Everything In This World Depended On Time. Time Ripened All. If You Had Time, You Succeeded In Working The Human Mud Internally And Turning It Into Spirit. Then You Did Not Fear Death. If You Did Not Have Time, You Perished.

All Those Who Actually Live The Mysteries Of Life Haven't The Time To Write, And All Those Who Have The Time Don't Live Them! D'you See?

We Have Seen The Highest Circle Of Spiraling Powers. We Have Named This Circle God. We Might Have Given It Any Other Name We Wished: Abyss, Mystery, Absolute Darkness, Absolute Light, Matter, Spirit, Ultimate Hope, Ultimate Despair, Silence.

Man Is Able, And Has The Duty, To Reach The Furthest Point On The Road He Has Chosen. Only By Means Of Hope Can We Attain What Is Beyond Hope.

My Entire Soul Is A Cry, And All My Work Is A Commentary On That Cry.

If A Woman Sleeps Alone It Puts A Shame On All Men. God Has A Very Big Heart, But There Is One Sin He Will Not Forgive. If A Woman Calls A Man To Her Bed And He Will Not Go.

The Landscape Affects The Human Psyche - The Soul, The Body And The Innermost Contemplations - Like Music. Every Time You Feel Nature Deeper You Resonate Better With Her, Finding New Elements Of Balance And Freedom.

All My Life I Struggled To Stretch My Mind To The Breaking Point, Until It Began To Creak, In Order To Create A Great Thought Which Might Be Able To Give A New Meaning To Life, A New Meaning To Death, And To Console Mankind.

Free Yourself From One Passion To Be Dominated By Another And Nobler One. But Is Not That, Too, A Form Of Slavery? To Sacrifice Oneself To An Idea, To A Race, To God? Or Does It Mean That The Higher The Model The Longer The Longer The Tether Of Our Slavery?

The Highest Point A Man Can Attain Is Not Knowledge, Or Virtue, Or Goodness, Or Victory, But Something Even Greater, More Heroic And More Despairing: Sacred Awe!

This Book Was Not Written Because I Wanted To Offer A Supreme Model To The Man Who Struggles; I Wanted To Show Him That He Must Not Fear Pain, Temptation Or Death - Because All Three Can Be Conquered, All Three Have Already Been Conquered. Christ Suffered Pain, And Since Then Pain Has Been Sanctified. Temptation Fought Until The Very Last Moment To Lead Him Astray, And Temptation Was Defeated. Christ Died On The Cross, And At That Instant Death Was Vanquished Forever.

You Will, Judas, My Brother. God Will Give You The Strength, As Much As You Lack, Because It Is Necessary—it Is Necessary For Me To Be Killed And For You To Betray Me. We Two Must Save The World. Help Me." Judas Bowed His Head. After A Moment He Asked, "if You Had To Betray Your Master, Would You Do It?" Jesus Reflected For A Long Time. Finally He Said, "no, I'm Afraid I Wouldn't Be Able To. That Is Why God Pitied Me And Gave Me The Easier Task: To Be Crucified.

Once More I Realized To What An Extent Earthly Happiness Is Made To The Measure Of Man. It Is Not A Rare Bird Which We Must Pursue At One Moment In Heaven, At The Next In Our Minds. Happiness Is A Domestic Bird Found In Our Own Courtyards.

I Felt This Was My Duty, My Sole Duty: To Reconcile The Irreconcilables, To Draw The Thick Ancestral Darkness Out Of My Loins And Transform It, To The Best Of My Ability, Into Light.

Death's Dry Bones Glowed With Light In The Erotic Dark But He Woke Not Nor Felt The Two Warm Bodies Merge; The Male Worm Then Took Heart And In His Wife's Ear Whispered: "with One Sweet Kiss, Dear Wife, We've Conquered Conquering Death!

Cursed Be All Those On Land And Sea Who Eat Their Fill, Cursed Be All Those Who Starve Yet Raise No Hand In Protest, Cursed Be All The Bread, The Wine, The Meat Which Day By Day Descends Deep In The Entrails Of The Exploited Man And Turns Not Into Freedom's Cry, The Murderer's Ruthless Knife!

We Come From A Dark Abyss, We End In A Dark Abyss, And We Call The Luminous Interval Life.

I Loved My Body And Did Not Want It To Perish; I Loved My Soul And Did Not Want It To Decay. I Have Fought To Reconcile These Two Primordial Forces.

Time Is Round, And It Rolls Quickly.

A Person Needs A Little Madness, Or Else They Never Dare Cut The Rope And Be Free.

A Magical Portal Opened Inside My Mind And Conducted Me Into An Astonishing World. [...] Before This Moment I Had Divined But Had Never Known With Such Positiveness That The World Is Extremely Large And That Suffering And Toil Are The Companions And Fellow Warriors Not Only Of Cretan, But Of Every Man. [...] That By Means Of Poetry All This Suffering And Effort Could Be Transformed Into Dream; No Matter How Much Of The Ephemeral Existed, Poetry Could Immortalize It By Turning It Into Song.

My Soul Comes From Better Worlds And I Have An Incurable Homesickness Of The Stars.

With The World In The State It Is Today, Whoever Is Virtuous Must Be So To The Point Of Sainthood, And Even Beyond; Whoever Is A Sinner Must Be So To The Point Of Bestiality And Even Beyond. Today The Middle Road Is No More.

I Hope For Nothing. I Fear Nothing. I Am Free.

Look, One Day I Had Gone To A Little Village. An Old Grandfather Of Ninety Was Busy Planting An Almond Tree. ‘what, Grandfather!’ I Exclaimed. ‘planting An Almond Tree?’ And He, Bent As He Was, Turned Around And Said: ‘my Son, I Carry On As If I Should Never Die.’ I Replied: ‘and I Carry On As If I Was Going To Die Any Minute.’ Which Of Us Was Right, Boss?

I Believe I'm A Caterpillar Buried Deep Down Under The Ground. The Entire Earth Is Above Me, Crushing Me And I Begin To Bore Through The Soil, Making A Passage To The Surface So That I Can Penetrate The Crust And Issue Into The Light. It's Hard Work Boring Through The Entire Earth, But I'm Able To Be Patient Because I Have A Strong Premonition That As Soon As I Do Issue Into The Light I Shall Become A Butterfly.

Lions And Lambs, Love And Force, Light And Fire, Good And Evil: All Things Climb The Same Mountain, The Mountain Of God.

It Was Certainly Not This Mummified And Outrageously Painted Old Woman He Was Seeing Before Him, But The Entire "female Species," As It Was His Custom To Call Women. The Individual Disappeared, The Features Were Obliterated, Whether Young Or Senile, Beautiful Or Ugly - Those Were Mere Unimportant Variations. Behind Each Woman Rises The Austere, Sacred And Mysterious Face Of Aphrodite.

Inexperience Loves To Preach.

God Is Action, Complete With Mistakes, Fumblings, Persistence, Agony. God Is Not The Power That Has Found Eternal Equilibrium, But The Power That Is Forever Breaking Every Equilibrium, Forever Searching For A Higher One.

Life Is Trouble. Only Death Is Not. To Be Alive Is To Undo Your Belt And *look* For Trouble.

What A Strange Machine Man Is! You Fill Him With Bread, Wine, Fish, And Radishes, And Out Comes Sighs, Laughter, And Dreams.

No Wide Road Leads To God.

God Changes Appearances Every Second. Blessed Is The Man Who Can Recognize Him In All His Disguises. One Moment He Is A Glass Of Fresh Water, The Next, Your Son Bouncing On Your Knees Or An Enchanting Woman, Or Perhaps Merely A Morning Walk.

There Is No Harsher Means Of Punishment, Than To Answer Malice With Kindness.

Every Perfect Traveler Always Creates The Country Where He Travels.

To Cleave That Sea [the Aegean] In The Gentle Autumnal Season, Murmuring The Name Of Each Islet, Is To My Mind The Joy Most Apt To Transport The Heart Of Man Into Paradise.

How Simple And Frugal A Thing Is Happiness.

Alas For Him Who Seeks Salvation In Good Only! Balanced On God's Strong Shoulders, Good And Evil Flap Together Like Two Mighty Wings And Lift Him High.

The Doors Of Heaven And Hell Are Adjacent And Identical.

For I Realize Today That It Is A Mortal Sin To Violate The Great Laws Of Nature. We Should Not Hurry, We Should Not Be Impatient, But We Should Confidently Obey The Eternal Rhythm.

Every Word Is An Adamantine Shell Which Encloses A Great Explosive Force. To Discover Its Meaning You Must Let It Burst Inside You Like A Bomb And In This Way Liberate The Soul Which It Imprisons.

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