Halldór Laxness Quotes

• Icelanders are grateful to meet foreigners who have heard of their country. And even more grateful to hear someone say it deserves better.

  Halldór Laxness

  Country, Gratitude, Grateful

  Halldór Laxness (2003). “Iceland's Bell”, Vintage

  96 Copy quote

• Where the glacier meets the sky, the land ceases to be earthly, and the earth becomes one with the heavens; no sorrows live there anymore, and therefore joy is not necessary; beauty alone reigns there, beyond all demands.

  Halldór Laxness

  Land, Sky, Joy

  "World Light" by Halldór Laxness, translated by Magnus Magnusson, published by Vintage Books, (Book Four: The Beauty of the Heavens), 2002.

  67 Copy quote

• For man is essentially alone, and one should pity him and love him and grieve with him.

  Halldór Laxness

  Men, Grieving, And Love

  49 Copy quote

• Whoever doesn't live in poetry cannot survive here on earth.

  Halldór Laxness

  Earth

  Halldór Laxness (2005). “Under the Glacier”, Vintage Books

  27 Copy quote

• It's a pity we don't whistle at one another, like birds. Words are misleading.

  Halldór Laxness

  Bird, Pity, Mislead

  Halldór Laxness (1972). “Christianity at Glacier”

  14 Copy quote

• It's a useful habit to never believe more than half of what people tell you, and not to concern yourself with the rest. Rather keep your mind free and your path your own.

  Halldór Laxness

  Believe, People, Mind

  "Independent People" by Halldór Laxness, translated by J. A. Thompson, published by Vintage Books, (Book Two), 1997.

  17 Copy quote

• What you have stolen can never be yours.

  Halldór Laxness

  Stolen

  Halldór Laxness (2005). “Under the Glacier”, Vintage Books

  12 Copy quote

• Human beings, in point of fact, are lonely by nature, and one should feel sorry for them and love them and mourn with them. It is certain that people would understand one another better and love one another more if they would admit to one another how lonely they were, how sad they were in their tormented, anxious longings and feeble hopes.

  Halldór Laxness

  Lonely, Sorry, People

  15 Copy quote

• Of all the creatures that man kills for his amusement there is only one that he kills out of hatred—other men. Man hates nothing as much as himself. That is why war is called the leprosy of the human soul.

  Halldór Laxness

  Hate, War, Men

  Halldór Laxness (2005). “Under the Glacier”, Vintage Books

  11 Copy quote

• Don't forget that few people are likely to tell more than a small part of the truth: no one tells much of the truth, let alone the whole truth. Spoken words are facts in themselves, whether true or false. When people talk they reveal themselves, whether they're lying or telling the truth.

  Halldór Laxness

  Lying, People, True Or False

  Halldór Laxness (2005). “Under the Glacier”, Vintage Books

  11 Copy quote

• Remember, any lie you are told, even deliberately, is often a more significant fact than a truth told in all sincerity.

  Halldór Laxness

  Lying, Facts, Remember

  Halldór Laxness (1972). “Christianity at Glacier”

  17 Copy quote

• My opinion has always been this, that you ought to never give up as long as you live, even though they have stolen everything from you. If nothing else, you can always call the air you breath your own, or at any rate you can claim that you have it on loan. Yes, lass, last night I ate stolen bread and left my son among men who are going to use pick-handles on the authorities, so I thought I might just as well look you up this morning.

  Halldór Laxness

  Morning, Giving Up, Son

  "Independent People" by Halldór Laxness, translated by J. A. Thompson, published by Vintage Books, (Book Two), 1997.

  14 Copy quote

• You have fettered yourself of your own free will, man - break the fetters!

  Halldór Laxness

  Men, Free Will, Break

  "World Light" by Halldór Laxness, translated by Magnus Magnusson, published by Vintage Books, (Book Three: The House of the Poet), 2002.

  9 Copy quote

• Like all great rationalists you believed in things that were twice as incredible as theology.

  Halldór Laxness

  Incredibles, Theology

  Halldór Laxness (2005). “Under the Glacier”, Vintage Books

  10 Copy quote

• One boy's footprints are not long in being lost in the snow, in the steadily falling snow of the shortest day, the longest night; they are lost as soon as they are made. And once again the heath is clothed in drifting white. And there is no ghost, save the one ghost that lives in the heart of a motherless boy, till his footprints disappear.

  Halldór Laxness

  Fall, Heart, Boys

  12 Copy quote

• He continued on, on to the glacier, towards the dawn, from ridge to ridge, in deep, new-fallen snow, paying no heed to the storms that might pursue him. As a child he had stood by the seashore at Ljósavík and watched the waves soughing in and out, but now he was heading away from the sea. "Think of me when you are in glorious sunshine." Soon the sun of the day of resurrection will shine on the bright paths where she awaits her poet. And beauty shall reign alone.

  Halldór Laxness

  Children, Sunshine, Thinking

  11 Copy quote

• A wise man once said that next to losing its mother, there is nothing more healthy for a child than to lose its father.

  Halldór Laxness

  Wise, Mother, Children

  "The Fish Can Sing". Book by Halldór Laxness, transl. by Magnus Magnusson, 2008.

  8 Copy quote

• When a man has a flower in his life he builds a house.

  Halldór Laxness

  Flower, Men, House

  10 Copy quote

• Bjartur declared that he had never denied that there was much that was strange in nature. "I consider that there's nothing wrong in believing in elves even though their names aren't on the parish register," he said. "It hurts no one, yes and even does you good rather than harm; but to believe in ghosts and ghouls-that I contend is nothing but the remains of popery and hardly fit for a Christian to give even a moment's consideration." He did his utmost to persuade the women to accept his views on these matters.

  Halldór Laxness

  Christian, Hurt, Believe

  7 Copy quote

• This was the first time that he has ever looked into the labyrinth of the human soul. He was very far from understanding what he saw. But what was of more value, he felt and suffered with her. In years that were yet to come, he relived this memory in song, in the most beautiful song this world has known. For the understanding of the soul's defencelessness, of the conflict between the two poles, is not the source of the greatest song. The source of the greatest song is sympathy.

  Halldór Laxness

  Beautiful, Song, Memories

  9 Copy quote

• A free man can live on fish.Independence is better than meat

  Halldór Laxness

  Men, Independence, Meat

  5 Copy quote

• My motto is strong packaging, clear addressing.

  Halldór Laxness

  Strong, Packaging, Motto

  Halldór Laxness (2005). “Under the Glacier”, Vintage Books

  22 Copy quote

• No one is so busy that he hasn't the time to dismantle a work of art.

  Halldór Laxness

  Time, Art, Busy

  Halldór Laxness (2005). “Under the Glacier”, Vintage Books

  7 Copy quote

• The tyranny of mankind; it was like the obstinate drip of water falling on a stone and hollowing it little by little; and this drip continued, falling obstinately, falling without pause on the souls of the children.

  Halldór Laxness

  Children, Fall, Water

  7 Copy quote

• It's an old saying that one still has to know something, despite everything.

  Halldór Laxness

  Old Saying, Stills, Despite

  Halldór Laxness (2005). “Under the Glacier”, Vintage Books

  4 Copy quote

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