First lines, Ch. 1
“
Someone must have been telling lies about Joseph K., for without having done anything wrong he was arrested one fine morning. His landlady's cook, who always brought him his breakfast at eight o'clock, failed to appear on this occasion. That had never happened before.
• Variant translation: Somebody must have slandered Joseph K., for without having done anything wrong he was arrested one fine morning.
— Franz Kafka
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Someone must have been telling lies about Joseph K., for without having done anything wrong he was arrested one fine morning. His landlady's cook, who always brought him his breakfast at eight o'clock, failed to appear on this occasion. That had never happened before.
• Variant translation: Somebody must have slandered Joseph K., for without having done anything wrong he was arrested one fine morning." in the context of "First lines, Ch. 1" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Franz Kafka" (Quotes, The Trial (1920): Published as Der Prozess (1925); full text online)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
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About Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a Bohemian-Jewish novelist, and one of the major German-language fiction writers of the 20th century.
About Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a Bohemian-Jewish novelist, and one of the major German-language fiction writers of the 20th century.
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