Henrik Ibsen Quotes

When we dead awaken… We see that we have never lived.[Når vi døde vaagner… Vi ser, at vi aldrig har levet.]

What should a man be? Himself, is my concise reply.[Hvad skal manden være! Sig selv; det er mit korte svar.]

To live – is to war with fiends, that infest the brain and the heart. To write – is to summon one’s self, and play the judge’s part.[At leve er krig med trolde i hjertets og hjernens hvælv; at digte – det er at holde dommedag over sig selv.][Often paraphrased “To live is to war against the trolls.”]

The worst that a man can do to himself is to do injustice to others.[Det værste et menneske kan gøre mod sig selv er at gøre uret mod andre.]

The wild bird never wants to go into the cage.[Skogfuglen vil aldrig ind i buret.]

The state has its root in Time: it will have its culmination in Time.[Staten har sin rod i tiden; den vil faa sin top i tiden.]

The spirits of Truth and Freedom – these are the Pillars of Society.[Sandhedens og frihedens ånd, det er samfundets – støtter.]

The costliness of keeping friends does not lie in what one does for them, but in what one, out of consideration for them, refrains from doing.[Det kostspielige ved at holde venner ligger jo ikke i, hvad man gør for dem, men hvad man af hensyn til dem undlader at gøre.]

That man is right who has allied himself most closely with the future.[Jeg mener, retten har den, som er nærmest i pagt med fremtiden.]

People that are sickly and rickety should have the goodness to see about getting themselves buried – the sooner the better.[De som syge og skrale er, de skulde værs’god se til at bli’ begravne – jo før jo heller.]

One day it will be clearly manifest that the greatest victory is defeat![Med klarsyn skønnes skal en dag, at største sejr er nederlag!]

Nothing is impossible that one desires with an indomitable will.[Umuligt er forresten ingenting, som man ubændigt vil.]