Skip to content
quotesby

The Cry within me is a call to arms. It shouts: 'I, the Cry, am the Lord your God! I am not an asylum. I am not hope and a home. I am not the Father nor the Son nor the Holy Ghost. I am your General! 'You are not my slave, nor a plaything in my hands. You are not my friend, you are not my child. You are my comrade-in-arms! 'Hold courageously the passes which I entrusted to you; do not betray them. You are in duty bound, and you may act heroically by remaining at your own battle station. 'Love danger. What is most difficult? That is what I want! Which road should you take? The most craggy ascent! It is the one I also take: follow me!

Nikos Kazantzakis#35

StruggleDivineSpiritActionDutyCourage

About this quote

What does it mean?
An internal divine call demands courage and duty, framing life as a battle rather than a place of comfort.
In plain terms
A strong voice inside me tells me to fight and be brave instead of seeking comfort.
What can you take from it?
Treat life as a duty to face challenges courageously.

Where it applies

  • leadership
  • crisis
  • personal challenge

Putting it to work

  • face fear
  • stay committed
  • embrace hard tasks

Questions to consider

  • What battle are you fighting?
  • Are you avoiding difficulty?

Another view

It frames life as constant conflict which can cause unnecessary stress.

More from Nikos Kazantzakis

  1. I put my body through its paces like a war horse; I keep it lean, sturdy, prepared. I harden it and I pity it. I have no other steed. I keep my brain wide awak…

    Permalink to quote #34
  2. 'Love responsibility. Say: 'It is my duty, and mine alone, to save the earth. If it is not saved, then I alone am to blame.' 'Love each man according to his co…

    Permalink to quote #36
  3. I am not the light, I am the night; but a flame stabs through my entrails and consumes me. I am the night devoured by light.

    Permalink to quote #33

Related quotes

  1. Except the Lord built the house they labour in vain. : The truth of that text was proved if one looks at the house of which the foundations were laid in 1918 a…

    Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler quote #24
  2. Amid all these things, beyond all these things every man and nation, every plant and animal, every god and demon, charges upward like an army inflamed by an in…

    Nikos KazantzakisNikos Kazantzakis quote #66
  3. This is our epoch, good or bad, beautiful or ugly, rich or poor - we did not choose it. This is our epoch, the air we breathe, the mud given us, the bread, the…

    Nikos KazantzakisNikos Kazantzakis quote #82