Quotes from Halldor Laxness

Then suddenly he remembered that he had once intended, as a pastime, to count the wrinkles in his grandmother's face. But now he found that he no longer desired to count them; but they remained close keeping somewhere in his soul, all of them, each and every one.

En þeir sem voru snemma á fótum morguninn eftir urðu þeirrar huggunar aðnjótandi að sjá Pétur Pálsson ríða heim af fjalli, að vísu aðþreingdan nokkuð, ákaflega moldugan, hattlausan, tannlausan, og loníettulausan, en þó óneitanlega í tiltölulega ómyrtu ásigkomulagi.

Like most people who actually live by a landlocked sound, bereft of hope of happiness, he had a particular aversion to any doctrines which left people without hope of happiness and told them that they lived by a landlocked sound.

On a knoll in the marshes stand the ruins of an old croft-house. This knoll is perhaps only in a certain sense the work of nature; perhaps it is much rather the work of long dead peasants who built their homes there on the grassy bank by the brook, generation after generation, one on the other's ruins.

The man who wears no socks can acquire things which bestockinged people can never obtain. By saving on socks, one can afford stamps for letters to philosophers throughout the world and get from them the correct interpretation of obscure words in Sanskrit.

Hvis man ser rigtig bedrøvet ud på gaden i den store verden, så kommer tykke mænd straks løbende og vifter med checkhæfte og engagerer én til cirkus. Sådan nogle lærer de at køre på en cykel, der går i stykker, når man forsøger at stige op, eller de lader dig spille med kosteskaft på stemmeløs fiol.

The most remarkable thing about man's dreams is that they all come true; this has always been the case, though no one would care to admit it. And a peculiarity of man's behaviour is that he is not in the least surprised when his dreams do come true; it is as if he had always expected nothing else. The goal to be reached and the determination to reach it are brother and sister, and slumber both in the same heart.

I also note pro tem that the church seems only moderately suited to attracting a congregation.

Dr Syngmann: Gott ist der Gott der Juden, sage ich! Deswegen sollst du ihn in Ruhe lassen, John. Was du gestohlen hast, wird niemals deins. Die Juden könne diese Gottesliebe verklagen und sie ins Zuchthaus bringen nach der Berner Konvention, die für Diebstahl von Patenten und Ideen schwere Strafen androht.

We Danes have always been charitable in our trading operations with Iceland. And when our deceased Highness monopolized trade with the island it was only in order to prevent outsiders from extorting those pitiable people." As

If there is such a thing as sin, then it is a sin not to be able to play a musical instrument.

A new generation forgets the spectres that may have tormented the old.

If there is any such thing as crime, then it is a crime to be uneducated.

Oamenii nevoiaÈ™i nu cunosc alt? distracÈ›ie decât uciderea oamenilor nevoiaÈ™i. Dintre toate creaturile pe care omul le ucide pentru propria-i distracÈ›ie, exista una pe care o ucide din ir? - alÈ›i oameni. Omul nu ur??te nimic aÈ™a cum se ur??te pe sine. De aceea r?zboiul este numit lepra sufletului uman.

Among other things, the catechism said: "Ill treatment of animals bears witness to a cruel and godless heart." The boy recited, "A hundred and eleven treatment of animals bears witness to a cruel and godless heart.

Che creatura ripugnante, l'uomo, commentò. Perché? chiesi. Beve il latte di altri animali, spiegò. In effetti è l'apice del contronatura. Quando mai a un cavallo viene in mente di farsi allattare da una vacca?

Sin - sin is God's most precious gift.

Ecco che cosa intendo per esperienze paranormali, soprannaturali. Se l'umanità si accontentasse di quelle, come faceva una volta, non avrebbe bisogno del tabacco e dell'acquavite.

Why should those of whom one is fondest have to suffer the most, and why is it that one can never do anything for them?

Áður fyrr voru engin verk kölluð sóðaleg nema þau sem unnin voru án vandvirkni af kæringarlausum verkamanni og lýstu handbragði skussa og ómennis.

Äsch, det är väl bara att banka ihop några jävla brädor, sa Bjartur.

Það hafa sagt mér frændur mínir, að þá er norræn kona ann manni um alla hluti fram, kaupi hún með legorði sínu af flugumanni að hann drepi elskhuga hennar, en taki síðan vegandann til eignar sér.

On olemassa kasvoja, joilla on valtaa ihmisen ylitse siihen saakka, kun hän jonakin kauniina päivänä loppuu.

He did not know what to say in the face of such sorrow. He sat in silence by his sister's side in the spring verdure, which was too young; and the hidden strings in his breast began to quiver; and to sound. This was the first time that he had ever looked into the labyrinth of the human soul.