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 More Quotes by Halldór Laxness More Quotes From Halldór Laxness 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 gratitude grateful country 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 For man is essentially alone, and one should pity him and love him and grieve with him. Halldór Laxness and-love grieving men Whoever doesn't live in poetry cannot survive here on earth. Halldór Laxness earth 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 mind believe people Remember, any lie you are told, even deliberately, is often a more significant fact than a truth told in all sincerity. Halldór Laxness remember lying facts 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 It's a pity we don't whistle at one another, like birds. Words are misleading. Halldór Laxness mislead pity bird 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 giving-up morning son 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 heart boys fall 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 sunshine children thinking 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 song beautiful memories 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 true-or-false lying people What you have stolen can never be yours. Halldór Laxness stolen A free man can live on fish.Independence is better than meat Halldór Laxness independence meat men You have fettered yourself of your own free will, man - break the fetters! Halldór Laxness free-will break men 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 hurt christian believe 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 water children fall When a man has a flower in his life he builds a house. Halldór Laxness flower house men Like all great rationalists you believed in things that were twice as incredible as theology. Halldór Laxness theology incredibles
