72 Quotes by Halldór Laxness

The life of man is so short that ordinary people simply cannot afford to be born

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

Remember that every day you quicken into motion waves that undulate on to the very confines of existence; you stir up waves that break upon the shores of eternity itself. And it is of much importance whether they are waves of brightness that are radiated, bearing light and fragrance far and wide, or whether they are waves of gloom, carrying misery and misfortune to loosen pent-up glaciers that will create an Ice Age of the national heart.

Hef ég drepið mann eða hef ég ekki drepið mann? Hver hefur drepið mann og hver hefur ekki drepið mann? Hvenær drepur maður mann og hvenær drepur maður ekki mann? Fari í helvíti sem ég drap mann. Og þó.

The days were like grown-up people, the mornings always young.

When a man has a flower in his life he builds a house.

He disliked tears, he has always disliked tears, had never understood them, and sometimes lost his temper over them; but he felt now that he could not rebuke this flower of his life, this innocent form, water and youth are inseparable companions, and besides it's Christmas night. So he merely hinted again that she must have forgotten again that he had promised to build her a house.

Remember, any lie you are told, even deliberately, is often a more significant fact than a truth told in all sincerity.

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