Viktor Quotes

My dear lady, you have no idea just how scandalous I can be. ~Peter Viktor von Strassenberg, 1905 ~ Gwenn Wright

As to the causation, of the feeling of meaningless, one may say, albeit in an oversimplifying way, that people have enough to live by but nothing to live for; they have the means but no meaning. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

Can you tell me in one sentence what is meant by logotherapy?" he asked. "At least, what is the difference between psychoanalysis and logotherapy?" "Yes," I said, "but in the first place, can you tell me in one sentence what you think the essence of psychoanalysis is?" This was his answer: "During psychoanalysis, the patient must lie down on a couch and tell you things which sometimes are very disagreeable to tell." Whereupon I immediately retorted with the following improvisation: "Now, in logotherapy the patient may remain sitting erect but he must hear things which sometimes are very disagreeable to hear. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

A man who let himself decline because he could not see any future goal found himself occupied with retrospective thoughts. In a different connection, we have already spoken of the tendency there was to look into the past, to help make the present, with all its horrors, less real. But in robbing the present of its reality there lay a certain danger. It became easy to overlook the opportunities to make something positive of camp life, opportunities ~ Viktor E. Frankl

My goal is to correct evil. I have to instruct these people on the right path. ~ Viktor Shel

The revolution has been dubbed The Orange Revolution, orange being the campaign color of Viktor Yushchenko. The demonstrators say they are tired of living under a corrupt government. ~ Bob Schaffer

Since Auschwitz, we know what man is capable of. And since Hiroshima, we know what is at stake. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

know that without the suffering, the growth that I have achieved would have been impossible." Is ~ Viktor E. Frankl

One of the most inspirational people I have ever known is Viktor Frankl, ~ Stephen R. Covey

I think it was Lessing who once said, 'There are things which must cause you to lose your reason or you have none to lose'. An abnormal reaction to an abnormal situation is normal behaviour. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

Look there." Regina pointed toward the northern sky. "Polaris."
Viktor looked up. "The constant north star, one of man's most dependable guides."
"Polaris will be waiting for us there when we are old and have experienced a lifetime of joys and regrets," Regina said, a wistful note in her voice. "That fact makes me feel like one of God's most insignificant creatures. ~ Patricia Grasso

You must look at the processes of motion in the macrocosmos and microcosmos accurately, and copy them! ~ Viktor Schauberger

I speak of a tragic optimism, that is, an optimism in the face of tragedy and in view of the human potential which at its best always allows for: (1) turning suffering into a human achievement and accomplishment; (2) deriving from guilt the opportunity to change oneself for the better; and (3) deriving from life's transitoriness an incentive to take responsible action. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

For tears bore witness that a man had the greatest of courage, the courage to suffer. Only ~ Viktor E. Frankl

Every day, every hour, offered the opportunity to make a decision, a decision which determined whether you would or would not submit to those powers which threatened to rob you of your very self, your inner freedom; which determined whether or not you would become the plaything of circumstance, renouncing freedom and dignity to become molded into the form of the typical inmate. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

Nietzsche: "He who has a Why to live for can bear almost any How." He ~ Viktor E. Frankl

When a man finds that it is his destiny to suffer [ ... ] his unique opportunity lies in the way he bears his burden. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

When a man cannot find meaning, he numbs himself with pleasure. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

Earthly life is a temporary phenomenon only", Jesus said thoughtfully. "Death comes sooner or later to all mortals. It is honour that is the eternal thing. I asked you not about your life, but about your honour and your good name. ~ Viktor Shel

Natural phenomena undisturbed by man point the way to the realization of a new technique. One needs a keen sense of observation. We must understand Nature before we can adapt its way of working to our needs. ~ Viktor Schauberger

Nature's most effective protection is the frailty of humanity, its work and its activities. The consequences of its activities must sooner or later bring about its own demise for the greater part of its present endeavours contravenes every principle of Nature. Hence, it is merely a question of the efficacy of humanity's activities and of the attainment of a particular level of culture which determines when the reaction sets in; when all that has been built up with so much care and sweat must once more collapse upon itself. Once humanity has reached this point, Nature will rid herself effortlessly of her greatest enemy and with renewed energy will rebuild all that humanity has destroyed. ~ Viktor Schauberger

Freedom" -- we repeated to ourselves, and yet we could not grasp it. We had said this word so often during all the years we dreamed about it, that it had lost its meaning. Its reality did not penetrate into our consciousness; we could not grasp the fact that freedom was ours. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

A man who becomes conscious of the responsibility he bears toward a human being who affectionately waits for him, or to an unfinished work, will never be able to throw away his life. He knows the "why" for his existence, and will be able to bear almost any "how". ~ Viktor E. Frankl

But there was no need to be ashamed of tears, for tears bore witness that a man had the greatest of courage, the courage to suffer. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

There are some authors who contend that meanings and values are "nothing but defense mechanisms, reaction formations and sublimations." But as for myself, I would not be willing to live merely for the sake of my "defense mechanisms," nor would I be ready to die merely for the sake of my "reaction formations. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

there are moments when indignation can rouse even a seemingly hardened prisoner-indignation not about cruelty or pain, but about the insult connected with it. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

Instead of taking the camp's difficulties as a test of their inner strength, they did not take their life seriously and despised it as something of no consequence. They preferred to close their eyes and to live in the past. Life for such people became meaningless. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

[U]ntil his last breath no one can wrest from a man his freedom to take one or another attitude toward his destiny. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

Either belief in God is unconditional or it is no belief at all. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

It is always important to have something yet to do in life. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

In his creative work the artist is dependent on sources and resources deriving from the spiritual unconscious. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

They did not take their life seriously and despised it as something of no consequence. They preferred to close their eyes and to live in the past. Life for such people became meaningless. Naturally ~ Viktor E. Frankl

Mental health is based on a certain degree of tension, the tension between what one has already achieved and what one still ought to accomplish, or the gap between what one is and what one should become. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

Any day now?" Viktor prodded. "Sì, sì. Do not get your…" Niccolo paused to recall the exact phrase. "Get your balls in a bunch." Viktor shook his head. "Panties." Niccolo frowned. "Why would you wear panties? Aren't those for females?" Viktor growled. "Can we go now?" "Yes, but I insist you tell me more about your man-panties later. ~ Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

For the world is in a bad state, but everything will become still worse unless each of us does his best. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

Challenging the meaning of life is the truest expression of the state of being human. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

An abnormal reaction to an abnormal situation is normal behavior. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

I have no quarrel with you," Viktor said, speaking to the four men that came to Chris and Alex's side. "I have no interest in fighting any of you. My enemy is only Christopher Adams."

"That's the thing," Neriah said. "You mess with one of us..."

"…you mess with all of us," Hadrian finished with a smirk. ~ S.F. Mazhar

I remember two cases of would-be suicide, which bore a striking similarity to each other. Both men had talked of their intentions to commit suicide. Both used the typical argument - they had nothing more to expect from life. In both cases it was a question of getting them to realize that life was still expecting something from them; something in the future was expected of them. We found, in fact, that for the one it was his child whom he adored and who was waiting for him in a foreign country. For the other it was a thing, not a person. This man was a scientist and had written a series of books which still needed to be finished. His work could not be done by anyone else, any more than another person could ever take the place of the father in his child's affections. This ~ Viktor E. Frankl

Viktor looked at the older man's nightshirt, robe, and nightcap. His lips quirked into a smile. "The hour is late, and the household sleeps. How is it that you are still awake?"
"I knew you would be knocking on the door sooner or later." Pickles looked down his long nose at him. "You have passed the previous six nights with Her Ladyship."
"You are observant, my good man."
"No, Your Highness, I am the one who locks the door at night." Pickles reached into his robe's pocket and produced a key. He passed it to the prince, saying, "After tonight, let yourself into the
house."
Viktor grinned at the majordomo and lifted the key out of his hand. "Your trust honors me."
"You are unlikely to abscond with the silver," Pickles drawled. ~ Patricia Grasso

Usually, to be sure, man considers only the stubble field of transitoriness and overlooks the full granaries of the past, wherein he had salvaged once and for all his deeds, his joys and also his sufferings. Nothing can be undone, and nothing can be done away with. I should say having been is the surest kind of being. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

What does Spinoza say in his Ethics? - "Affectus, qui passio est, desinit esse passio simulatque eius claram et distinctam formamus ideam." Emotion, which is suffering, ceases to be suffering as soon as we form a clear and precise picture of it. The ~ Viktor E. Frankl

Another statistical survey, of 7,948 students at forty-eight colleges, was conducted by social scientists from Johns Hopkins University. Their preliminary report is part of a two-year study sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health. Asked what they considered "very important" to them now, 16 percent of the students checked "making a lot of money"; 78 percent said their first goal was "finding a purpose and meaning to my life. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

A cynical plan has been launched in Ukraine to destroy this administration ~ Viktor Yushchenko

If hundreds of thousands of people reach out for a book whose very title promises to deal with the question of a meaning to life, it must be a question that burns under their fingernails. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

One of the credos of my life is taken from Viktor Frankl, a Jewish survivor of Nazi concentration camps, who was a psychiatrist and author. In his highly influential book, Man's Search for Meaning, he related that after the war someone asked him if he 'hated the German race.' He responded that he did not because in his view, 'There are only two races, the decent and the indecent.' That is how I divide the world. Not between Muslim and non-Muslim, black and white, or American and non-American, but between the decent and indecent. The issues I raise about Islam are not about the decency of Muslims, but about whether Islam in its traditional Islamist configuration is more or less likely than the American value system to produce good societies. ~ Dennis Prager

Man does not simply exist but always decides what his existence will be, what he will become in the next moment. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

Fundamentally, therefore, any man can, even under such circumstances, decide what shall become of him - mentally and spiritually. He may retain his human dignity even in a concentration camp. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

Amelia: 'I have to go.'
Viktor: 'I have to stay.'
- The Terminal (movie) ~ Anonymous

Half a century ago, the Austrian psychiatrist Viktor Frankl wrote that happiness cannot be attained by wanting to be happy - it must come as the unintended consequence of working for a goal greater than oneself. ~ Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

No one has the right to do wrong, even if wrong has been done to them. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

Because of social pressure, individualism is rejected by most people in favor of conformity. Thus the individual relies mainly upon the actions of others and neglects the meaning of his own personal life. Hence he sees his own life as meaningless and falls into the "existential vacuum" feeling inner void. Progressive automation causes increasing alcoholism, juvenile delinquency, and suicide. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

In the case of guilt, however, the stand one takes is a stand to one's self. What is even more important, fate cannot be changed; otherwise it would not be fate. Man, however, may well change himself, otherwise he would not be man. It is a prerogative of being human, and a constituent of human existence, to be capable of shaping and reshaping oneself. In other words, it is a privilege of man to become guilty, and his responsibility to overcome guilt. [...] As Max Scheler also pointed out, man has a right to be considered guilty and to be punished. Once we deal with man as the victim of circumstances and their influences, we not only cease to treat him as a human being but also lame his will to change. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

Despite our accumulation of material wealth, humanity is now engulfed by a widespread economic collapse. Many areas of production exhibit regressive trends so that visible epicentres of decay are growing on all sides and threatening humanity itself. Despite all the research no means can be found to prevent humanity from decaying alive. This is no more than the just and legitimate consequence of human activity. Knowing nothing of Nature's omnipotent laws, and with mindless greed, humanity claws into the life-giving organism of Mother Earth. She is now, with elemental power, beginning to paralyse the wanton hand that dared disturb the forces that serve all Creation. ~ Viktor Schauberger

The greatest task for any person is to find meaning in his or her life. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

I have never allowed anti-Russian rhetoric in Ukrainian policy toward such a strategic partner like Russia. This is the first point. I never went against the interests of the Ukrainian state and the Ukrainian people. ~ Viktor Yanukovych

It is well known that humor, more than anything else in the human make-up, can afford an aloofness and an ability to rise above any situation, even if only for a few seconds. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

It is here that we encounter the central theme of existentialism: to live is to suffer, to survive is to find meaning in the suffering. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

When a person can't find a deep sense of meaning, they distract themselves with pleasure. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

God has left me alive, so it looks like I'm needed for something ... As soon as there is a possibility for me to return, I will return and will do everything I can to make life better in Ukraine. And today, the main task is to stop the war. ~ Viktor Yanukovych

Both men had talked of their intentions to commit suicide. Both used the typical argument - they had nothing more to expect from life. In both cases it was a question of getting them to realize that life was still expecting something from them; something ~ Viktor E. Frankl

A human being is a deciding being. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

When we are not any lengthier capable to alter a predicament, we're challenged to alter ourselves ~ Viktor E. Frankl

Such a value system might be responsible for the fact that the burden of unavoidable unhappiness is increased by unhappiness about being unhappy. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

We can and must turn this page if we are friends and are prepared to look one another in the eye. ~ Viktor Yushchenko

Get in my way again, boy, and you're going to learn that Velkan isn't the only one in this family who has fangs. Retta to Viktor ~ Sherrilyn Kenyon

I try to do everything as soon as possible, and not at the last moment. This ensures that, when I am overburdened with work, I will not face the added pressure of knowing that something is still to be done. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

How can we dare to predict the behavior of man? We may predict the movements of a machine, of an automaton; more than this, we many even try to predict the mechanisms or "dynamisms" of the human psyche as well. But man is more than psyche. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

From all this we may learn that there are two races of men in this world, but only these two - the "race" of the decent man and the "race" of the indecent man. Both are found everywhere; they penetrate into all groups of society. No group consists entirely of decent or indecent people. In this sense, no group is of "pure race" - and therefore one occasionally found a decent fellow among the camp guards. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

They want to dissolve Europe. They want to take away our own life and change it to something which is not our life. ~ Viktor Orbán

Between stimulus and response is the freedom to choose. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

No, I'm serious," Frankie insisted, fed up with being silenced. "Why didn't you just make me a normie?"
Viktor sighed. "Because that's not who we are. We're special. And I'm very proud that. You should be, too."
"Proud?" Frankie spat out the word as if it had been soaked in nail polish remover. "How can I be proud when everyone is telling me to hide?"
"I'm telling you to hide so you'll be safe. But you can still feel proud of who you are," he explained, like it really was that simple. "Pride has to come from within you and stay with you, no matter what people say."
Huh?
Frankie crossed her arms and looked away. ~ Lisi Harrison

How else should it be done then?", was always the immediate question. The answer is simple: "Exactly in the opposite way that it is done today! ~ Viktor Schauberger

Viktor Frankl said the Concentration camp survivalist said no matter how much mental or physical abuse had been given nobody could cause him to think about anything he didn't want to think about ~ Bob Proctor

The point is not what we expect from life, but rather what life expects from us. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

No Chess Grandmaster is normal; they only differ in the extent of their madness ~ Viktor Korchnoi

It is not the physical pain which hurts the most (and this applies to adults as much as to punished children); it is the mental agony caused by the injustice, the unreasonableness of it all. Strangely ~ Viktor E. Frankl

You don't create your mission in life - you detect it. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

A glance would not be enough to tell you this was the daughter of Katherine Raquel Demure. Even a lingering gaze would not suffice. No. Only careful study of the original and a comparative inspection of her only child would even hint at a relation between the two. Viktor could see it and knew, beyond doubt, that Henrietta not only saw it but was also vexed by it on a daily basis. ~ Gwenn Wright

Ironically enough, in the same way that fear brings to pass what one is afraid of, likewise a forced intention makes impossible what one forcibly wishes ... Pleasure is, and must remain, a side-effect or by-product, and is destroyed and spoiled to the degree to which it is made a goal in itself. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

Psychiatrist and Auschwitz survivor, Viktor Frankl, stated, ... man is by no means merely a product of heredity and environment. There is a third element: decision. Man ultimately decides for himself! ~ Alice A. Kemp

I have known successful businessmen who, upon retirement, lost all zest for life. Their work had given their lives meaning. Often it was the only thing that had given their lives meaning and, without it, they spent day after day sitting at home, depressed, with nothing to do. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

The only positive contribution to chess from Fischer in the last 20 years. ~ Viktor Korchnoi

There are two races of men in this world, but only these two - the "race" of the decent man and the "race" of the indecent man. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

Those who know how close the connection is between the state of mind of a man - his courage and hope, or lack of them - and the state of immunity of his body will understand that the sudden loss of hope and courage can have a deadly effect. The ultimate cause of my friend's death was that the expected liberation did not come and he was severely disappointed. This suddenly lowered his body's resistance against the latent typhus infection. His faith in the future and his will to live had become paralyzed and his body fell victim to illness - and thus the voice of his dream was right after all. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

Man is capable of changing the world for the better if possible, and of changing himself for the better if necessary. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

Whenever the degraded majority and the promoted minority came into conflict (and there were plenty of opportunities for this, starting with the distribution of food) the results were explosive. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

Tragic tales rarely do make sense. ~ Gwenn Wright

The innermost core of the patient's personality is not even touched by a psychosis.
An incurably psychotic individual may lose his usefulness but yet retain the dignity of a human being. This is my psychiatric credo.
Without it I should not think it worthwhile to be a psychiatrist.
For whose sake? Just for the sake of a damaged brain machine which cannot be repaired? If the patient were not definitely more, euthanasia would be justified. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

Our greatest human freedom is that, despite whatever our physical situation is in life, WE ARE ALWAYS FREE TO CHOOSE OUR THOUGHTS! ~ Viktor E. Frankl

I had wanted simply to convey to the reader by way of concrete example that life holds a potential meaning under any conditions, even the most miserable ones. And I thought that if the point were demonstrated in a situation as extreme as that in a concentration camp, my book might gain a hearing. I therefore felt responsible for writing down what I had gone through, for I thought it might be helpful to people who are prone to despair. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

If you call 'religious' a man who believes in what I call a Supermeaning, a meaning so comprehensive that you can no longer grasp it, get hold of it in rational intellectual terminology, then one should feel free to call me religious, really. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

Sense Networks and Skyhook, ~ Viktor Mayer-Schonberger

Life is like being at the dentist. You always think that the worst is still to come, and yet it is over already. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

Sometimes I even say that I have surpassed Lasker in using psychology. How? Well, sometimes I use psychology with a portion of risk. That is something else, something that Lasker wouldn't allow. ~ Viktor Korchnoi

At the beginning of human history, man lost some of the basic animal instincts in which an animal's behavior is embedded and by which it is secured. Such security, like paradise, is closed to man forever; man has to make choices. In addition to this, however, man has suffered another loss in his more recent development inasmuch as the traditions which buttressed his behavior are now rapidly diminishing. No instinct tells him what he has to do, and no tradition tells him what he ought to do; sometimes he does not even know what he wishes to do. Instead, he either wishes to do what other people do (conformism) or he does what other people tell him to do (totalitarianism). ~ Viktor E. Frankl

The neurotic who learns to laugh at himself may be on the way to self-management, perhaps to cure.11 ~ Viktor E. Frankl

I recommend that the Statue of Liberty be supplemented by a Statue of Responsibility on the west coast. ~ Viktor E. Frankl

Yes... hornbeam and dragon heartstring?" he shot at Krum, who nodded. "Rather thicker than one usually sees... quite rigid... ten and a quarter inches... Avis!"
The hornbeam wand let off a blast like a gun, and a number of small, twittering birds flew out of the end and through the open window into the watery sunlight. ~ J.K. Rowling

From this one may see that there is no reason to pity old people. Instead, young people should envy them. It is true that the old have no opportunities, no possibilities in the future. But they have more than that. Instead of possibilities in the future, they have realities in the past - the potentialities they have actualized, the meanings they have fulfilled, the values they have realized - and nothing and nobody can ever remove these assets from the past. ~ Viktor E. Frankl