469 Quotes by Erich Maria Remarque

The wisest were just the poor and simple people. They knew the war to be a misfortune, whereas those who were better off, and should have been able to see more clearly what the consequences would be, were beside themselves with joy.

A crude age. Peace is stabilized with cannon and bombers, humanity with concentration camps and pogroms. We're living in a time when all standards are turned upside-down, Kern. Today the aggressor is the shepherd of peace, and the beaten and hunted are the troublemakers of the world. What's more, there are whole races who believe it!

Peace, a fireplace, books, silence ... Before this was seen as one philistinism. Now these are dreams of a lost paradise.

Today the aggressor is the shepherd of peace, and the beaten and hunted are the troublemakers of the world. What's more, there are whole races who believe it!

Für die Bäume ist es Frühjahr, sonst nichts. Alles andere geht sie nichts an.

Was wissen sie davon? Sie waren jung, und man hat Sie mit Lügen vergiftet, bevor Sie urteilen konnten. Aber wir, - wir haben es gesehen und geschehen lassen! Was war es? Trägheit des Herzens? Gleichgültigkeit? Armut? Egoismus? Verzweiflung? Aber wie konnte es eine solche Pest weren? Meinen Sie, ich denke nicht täglich darüber nach?

Safe in his cage,' she repeated. 'Who wants to be safe in a cage?

We have our dreams because without them we could not bear the truth.

It was a melancholy secret that reality can arouse desires but never satisfy them.