Turkish Literature: Authors: Sabahattin Ali

“Can’t you still accept that being alone is essential in life? All rapprochement, all mergers are liars. People can only mingle to a certain extent, they make up the upper part; And one day, when they realize their mistake, they leave everything and run away from their despair. However, this will not happen if they settle for what is possible and stop assuming that their dreams are real.”
― Sabahattin Ali,  Kürk Mantolu Madonna

“The more I needed people, the more I needed to escape from them.”
― Sabahattin Ali,  Kürk Mantolu Madonna

“Why can’t we walk side by side in silence on windy autumn evenings and listen to our souls speak?”
― Sabahattin Ali,  Kürk Mantolu Madonna

“There is no devil inside us… We have helplessness within us… There is laziness… There is willpower, ignorance and something more terrible than all of them: the habit of avoiding seeing the truth…”
― Sabahattin Ali, İçimizdeki Şeytan

“I believed in only one person in the world. I believed so much that being deceived about it did not leave me the strength to believe anymore.”
― Sabahattin Ali,  Kürk Mantolu Madonna

“It is certainly easier to find a hero who will descend into a well known to have a dragon at its bottom, than to find a person who will dare to descend into a well whose depths are unknown.”
― Sabahattin Ali,  Kürk Mantolu Madonna

“Because people know how difficult it is to get to know each other, they prefer to wander blindly and only become aware of each other’s presence as they collide, rather than attempting this laborious task.”
― Sabahattin Ali,  Kürk Mantolu Madonna

“Even the simplest, most miserable, and even the most stupid man in the world has such a wonderful and confused soul that will amaze people. Why do we avoid understanding this so much and think that the creature they call human is one of the easiest things to understand and judge about?”
― Sabahattin Ali,  Kürk Mantolu Madonna

“The crowd really bored me. I’m always like this, sometimes I love all people enough to hug and kiss their necks, and sometimes I don’t want to see any of their faces. It’s not hate… I didn’t even think about hating people… Just a need for solitude. There are days when I don’t want the slightest movement or even the slightest sound around me. But then all of a sudden I’m looking for someone close to me around me. Someone to tell at length, one by one, all this going on in my brain. You can’t describe how sad I was then. I feel miserable, like a cat thrown out on a winter’s day.”
― Sabahattin Ali, İçimizdeki Şeytan

“Our life before we met each other was really nothing but searching for each other… Searching without knowing what we were looking for… Now I am at peace, as if I am in peace like someone who has found what he is looking for and wants nothing more… Is there any greater happiness in the world than this?”
― Sabahattin Ali, İçimizdeki Şeytan

“Do you know why I hate you, all men, so much in the world? Just because they want many things from people as if they are their most natural right. Don’t get me wrong, these demands don’t necessarily have to become words. Men have such a look, such a smile, such a way of raising their hands, and the way they treat women in such a way… You have to be blind not to realize how much and how stupidly they trust themselves. It is enough to understand their arrogant pride to see the shock they feel when their demands are denied in any way. They never cease to think of themselves as hunters and of us as poor prey. Our duty is only to be subject, to obey, to give what is desired. We cannot ask, we do not give of ourselves.I loathe this foolish and arrogant male pride. Do you understand?”
― Sabahattin Ali,  Kürk Mantolu Madonna

“You will see, I am a person who lives in my head rather than the world… My real life is nothing but a boring dream for me…”
― Sabahattin Ali,  Kürk Mantolu Madonna

“Goodness does not mean not to harm anyone, but not to carry within itself the ore that will cause harm.”
― Sabahattin Ali, İçimizdeki Şeytan

“This defect belongs to me, not you. It’s hard to believe me too. I thought I wasn’t in love with you because I couldn’t believe that you loved me so much. I understand this now. So people took the ability to believe from me. But now I believe. You made me believe. I love you. I love it not like crazy, but quite sanely.”
― Sabahattin Ali,  Kürk Mantolu Madonna

“Is it possible to shake a person who is ready for anything and knows what can come from whom?”
― Sabahattin Ali,  Kürk Mantolu Madonna

“.. After that, there was no way to break the ice, to remove the terrible alienation that these people felt for each other. Because people know how difficult it is to get to know each other, they prefer to wander blindly and only become aware of each other’s presence as they collide, rather than attempting this strenuous task. ”
― Sabahattin Ali,  Kürk Mantolu Madonna

“Tonight I realized that a person can sometimes cling to another person with stronger bonds than they are attached to life. Also tonight I realized that after losing him, I can only roll and drift in the world like a hollow nut.”
― Sabahattin Ali, Kürk Mantolu Madonna

“Life doesn’t leave the things they separate from each other together for a long time, even if it seems to bring them closer together for a short time. It is not possible to bring back the days gone by, and the memories alone are not strong enough to bind two people together.”
― Sabahattin Ali,  Kuyucaklı Yusuf

“The weakest part of people is their astonishing tendency to believe without asking, without researching, without thinking, without blowing their minds.”
― Sabahattin Ali, İçimizdeki Şeytan

“So life was such a foggy and wobbly sea that could not even be seen two steps ahead. What kind of will did we have after it was going to be the toy of chance? What good were the feelings that filled our chest and the thoughts that moved in our heads after we couldn’t use them?”
― Sabahattin Ali, İçimizdeki Şeytan

“To have mercy on another is to think that we are stronger than him, that we have no right to see ourselves as great or to see others as more pathetic than we are.”
― Sabahattin Ali ,  Kürk Mantolu Madonna

“To live knowing that a mother fills as much life as a lifetime…”
― Sabahattin Ali,  Kürk Mantolu Madonna

“My books await me in my room. This is the only consolation. In
this room, where I know each and every item individually and very well, they alone
always carry a new scent. He always has a lot to say . For example, I have examined the
marble tobacco tray with a broken tip on the edge of the table from the top, bottom, right and left , maybe a hundred times, and I took it in my hand and watched the fine veins and roughness on the broken place for hours . It is as familiar to me as my own voice . However, even a line of a book I read the most can sometimes tell me something else.
However, it takes a long time together to see even their most intimate side . Books versus new acquaintances they are very discreet. Once you’re familiar with them,
they give you everything they own, and they’re over-owning everything we could ask for . Those who love books like a woman feel less tormented by their single room. When they
lie down with a book in their hands and turn on the lamp at their bedside, they feel the happiness of a happy married life that is always repeated : The man who knows how to heal with books has begun to get rid of his humanity. And we are always, always human.”
― Sabahattin Ali

“You are alone in Berlin, aren’t you?” said.
“Like what? ”
“So… Alone at work… Lonely… Lonely in spirit… How can I say… You have such a state…”
“I understand, I understand… I am completely alone… But not in Berlin… I am alone in the whole world… Since I was little…”
“I am lonely too…” said. This time, taking my hands in his, he continued: “I am lonely enough to drown…” he continued, “as lonely as a sick dog…”
…
Note that the day you ask me for anything, it’s over. Do you understand anything, you will not want anything… Do you know why I hate you, all men, so much in the world? Just because they demand many things from people as if they are their most natural right… Don’t get me wrong, these demands don’t necessarily have to become a word… Men have such a look, such a smile, such a way of raising their hands, and the way they treat women in a nutshell… How much more to themselves. and you have to be blind not to realize how foolishly they trusted. It is enough to understand their arrogant pride to see their shock when their demands are denied in any way. They never cease to think of themselves as hunters and us as poor prey. Our duty is only to be subject,to obey, to give what is wanted… We cannot ask, we cannot give anything of ourselves… I am disgusted by this stupid and arrogant male pride. Do you understand? I think we can be friends for that. Because you don’t have that senseless self-confidence… But I don’t know… I’ve seen wild wolf teeth grin from the mouths of the lambs…
…
I am a person who lives inside my head rather than the world … My real life is nothing but a boring dream for me…”
― Sabahattin Ali,  Kürk Mantolu Madonna

“Maria Puder seemed to have lost some composure over the last few minutes. I was glad to find this out: it would have saddened me greatly to see him go unscathed. constantly holding my hand and letting go:
“What pointless thing?… why are you leaving?” it was said.
“You’re leaving, I’m still here!” said.
He didn’t seem to notice my words. grabbed my arm.
“raif… now I’m leaving!” said.
“Yes I know!”
It was time for the train to depart. An officer was covering the wagon door. Maria Puder jumped onto the stair step, then bent down to me, in a slow but firm voice:
“I’m going now. But I will come whenever you call…” he said.
I didn’t understand what you mean at first. He paused for a moment and added:
“I will come wherever you call!”
― Sabahattin Ali,  Kürk Mantolu Madonna

“Since my childhood, I was afraid of wasting happiness, I wanted to save some of it for the future… This situation would have caused me to miss many opportunities, but I was always afraid to threaten my luck by asking for more.”
― Sabahattin Ali,  Kürk Mantolu Madonna

“The love I’ve been waiting for is different! It is something beyond all logic, indescribable and unknown. It is one thing to love and to be liked, to want with one’s soul, with one’s whole body, with everything else… I think love is this wanting. An irresistible request!”
― Sabahattin Ali

“.. How well did people understand each other… I also wanted to get up and analyze another person’s mind, to see his straight or confused soul. The simplest, most miserable, and even the stupidest man in the world has such a wonderful and complex soul that will amaze people!.. Why do we avoid understanding this so much and think that the creature they call human is one of the easiest things to understand and judge? Why do we make our final decision about the first person we come across, even though we avoid talking about the goodness of a cheese we see for the first time, and go beyond with peace of mind?
― Sabahattin Ali

“I am afraid now. Do you know what it is like to have bliss so much and so dense that it frightens us?”
― Sabahattin Ali, İçimizdeki Şeytan

“Living where he lived was not living like him.”
― Sabahattin Ali,  Kürk Mantolu Madonna