Quotes from Selma Lagerlöf

It is not a good omen to meet a lot of cats when one sets out on a journey, so the Lieutenant spat three times for each cat, as his mother had taught him to do.

What is so certain of victory as patience?

He who is sorrowful can force himself to smile, but he who is glad cannot weep.

It is only under the plane trees of Granada that la cachucha is danced by eternally young gypsies. Eternally young, like the roses are, because every spring there are new ones.

But now the sickness and fever were gone. She was again cold and sensible. To her it was as though she alone was wise in this world of madmen. She neither hated nor loved. She understood her father; she understood them all. Anyone who understands does not hate.

Vad brydde han sig om att leva, när inte den lilla flickan kom tillbaka?

For, so long as there are interesting books to read, it seems to me that neither I nor anyone else, for that matter, need be unhappy.

The Broby minister sat in his desolate home and wept in desperation. She had made him young. Would he now get old? Would the evil spirit come back, and would he become despicable, as despicable as he had been?

Ty sådana fålar finna livet svårt, som inte tåla sporre eller piska. Vid varje smärta, som övergår dem, skena de åstad på vilda vägar mot gapande avgrunder. Så snart vägen är stenig och färden bekymmersam, veta de ingen annan råd än att välta lasset och fara åstad i galenskap.

Where are the gods of the east, the strong heroes who carried lightning as a weapon, those who on the shores of sacred rivers took offerings of honey and milk? They are dead. Dead is Bel, the strong warrior, and Thot, the hawk-headed champion. Dead are the magnificents who rested on the cloud beds of Olympus, as are the adventurers who lived in walled Valhalla. All the gods of the ancients are dead except Eros, the all-governing.

Ja, vem var hon, att hon kunde våga påstå, att allt det här spektaklet med Karl-Artur, det var ingenting? Det var inte samvetskval, det var inte någon straffdom, det var just jämnt ingenting.

Jag kom ihåg från fordom, att du brukade smyga dig undan hit, när du hade en ledig stund, för att sitta och sörja. - Jag hade inte mycket att sörja över på den tiden. - Den sorg du inte hade, den hittade du på åt dig.

É mais fácil voar alto do que baixo (...) é mais fácil voar depressa do que devagar.

På bron fanns inte en människa, som kunde höra dem. Det var deras hemlands blåa kullar, älvens gråa vatten och de bugande träden som de sjöng till. De skulle aldrig se dem mer, och ur strupar, som tillsnördes av gråt, trängde avskedssången.

Hur mycket oftare blir man inte stucken av en ros än bränd av en nässla.

Nothing on earth can make up for the loss of one who has loved you.

Non c'è niente di più bello che starsene lì sdraiati con un bel libro avuto in regalo, un libro nuovo che non si è ancora mai visto e che nessun altro in casa conosce, e sapere che si può leggere pagina dopo pagina finché si riesce a stare svegli. Ma come si fa la Notte di Natale, se non si sono ricevuti libri?

Hon hade lärt sig älska kärleken med all dess plåga, dess tårar, dess längtan . - Bättre sorgsen med den än glad utan den, sade hon.

He needed so much to weep. All the distrust of life which misfortunes had brought to the little Värmland boy needed tears to wash it away. Distrust that love and joy, beauty and strength blossomed on the earth, distrust in himself, all must go, all did go, for it was Easter; the dead lived and the Spirit of Fasting would never again come into power.

Assim manda a justiça - a inteligência e a sabedoria foram e são ainda hoje as qualidades que transformam o mendigo em príncipe.

La trappola per topi è un regalo di Natale, da parte di un topo che sarebbe rimasto catturato nella trappola del mondo se non era stato elevato a capitano di cavalleria. E allora ebbe la forza di cavarsela.

Strange, when you ask anyone's advice you see yourself what is right. Even while you are asking, you discover all at once what you hadn't been able to find out in three whole years.

Old butterflies should have the sense to die while the summer sun is shining

quanto mais coisas vos entrarem na cabeça, tanto mais espaço fica para outras.