Quotes from Dag Hammarskjold

The myths have always condemned those who 'looked back.' Condemned them, whatever the paradise may have been which they were leaving. Hence this shadow over each departure from your decision.

Constant attention by a good nurse may be just as important as a major operation by a surgeon.

Each morning we must hold out the chalice of our being to receive, to carry, and give back. It must be held out empty - for the past must only be reflected in its polish, its shape, its capacity.

Forgiving is forgetting, in spite of remembering.

Never, for the sake of peace and quiet, deny your own experience or convictions.

Our work for peace must begin within the private world of each one of us.

'Freedom from fear' could be said to sum up the whole philosophy of human rights.

In a political context of the utmost significance, ["freedom from fear"] recognizes a human right which, in a broad sense, may be said to sum up the whole philosophy of human rights.

Those who invoke history will certainly be heard by history. And they will have to accept its verdict.

Never look down to test the ground before taking your next step; only he who keeps his eye fixed on the far horizon will find the right road.

In the presence of God, nothing stands between Him and us - we are forgiven. But we cannot feel His presence if anything is allowed to stand between ourselves and others.

If a good person does you wrong, act as though you had not noticed it. They will make note of this and not remain in your debt long.

Maturity - among other things, the unclouded happiness of the child at play, who takes it for granted that he is at one with his play-mates.

The UN wasn't created to take mankind into paradise, but rather, to save humanity from hell.

The breaking wave and the muscle as it contracts obey the same law. Delicate line gathers the body's total strength in a bold balance. Shall my soul meet so severe a curve, journeying on its way to form?

I believe that we should die with decency so that at least decency will survive.

Only he deserves power who every day justifies it.

If only I may grow: firmer, simpler, quieter, warmer.

To forgive oneself? No, that doesn't work: we have to be forgiven. But we can only believe this is possible if we ourselves can forgive.

Everything will be all right - you know when? When people, just people, stop thinking of the United Nations as a weird Picasso abstraction and see it as a drawing they made themselves.

What makes loneliness an anguish is not that I have no one to share my burden, but this: I have only my own burden to bear.

Life yields only to the conqueror.

I never discuss discussions.

I am the vessel. The draft is God's. And God is the thirsty one.