Quotes from Georg Brandes

The war imbued my tin soldiers with quite a new interest. It was impossible to have boxes enough of them.

A love for humanity came over me, and watered and fertilised the fields of my inner world which had been lying fallow, and this love of humanity vented itself in a vast compassion.

Those [Christians] had left to love on earth were then: brothers and sisters in hatred, whom they called then: brothers and sisters in love.

The stream of time sweeps away errors, and leaves the truth for the inheritance of humanity.

But my doubt would not be overcome. Kierkegaard had declared that it was only to the consciousness of sin that Christianity was not horror or madness. For me it was sometimes both.

He who does not understand a joke, he does not understand Danish.

When I was a little boy I did not, of course, trouble much about my appearance.

Being gifted needs courage.

I admired in others the strength that I lacked myself.

Just about this time, when in imagination I was so great a warrior, I had good use in real life for more strength, as I was no longer taken to school by the nurse, but instead had myself to protect my brother, two years my junior.

But when I was twelve years old I caught my first strong glimpse of one of the fundamental forces of existence, whose votary I was destined to be for life - namely, Beauty.

But I did not find any positive inspiration in my studies until I approached my nineteenth year.

My first experiences of academic friendship made me smile in after years when I looked back on them. But my circle of acquaintances had gradually grown so large that it was only natural new friendships should grow out of it.

The appalling thing about war is that it kills all love of truth.

Birth was something that came quite unexpectedly, and afterwards there was one child more in the house.

My father, though, could run very much faster. It was impossible to compete with him on the grass. But it was astonishing how slow old people were. Some of them could not run up a hill and called it trying to climb stairs.

Being gifted needs courage.

Any feeling that I was enriching my mind from those surrounding me was unfortunately rare with me.

The educator shall help the young to educate themselves in opposition to the age.

I was not afraid of what I did not like. To overcome dislike of a thing often satisfied one's feeling of honour.

I was at home then in the world of figures, but not in that of values.

The Danish glee: the national version of cheerfulness.

My first experiences of academic friendship made me smile in after years when I looked back on them. But my circle of acquaintances had gradually grown so large that it was only natural new friendships should grow out of it.

I came into the world two months too soon, I was in such a hurry.