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Quotes from Íslandsklukkan (Iceland's Bell) — Halldór Laxness

1902–1998 Iceland

← All quotes by Halldór Laxness

21 quotes

The truth displayed in a good life is the fairest of images.

Íslandsklukkan (Iceland's Bell) (1946)

Because there are indeed women in Iceland, it will now be proven to you, you ugly wench, that there are also men in Iceland!

Íslandsklukkan (Iceland's Bell) (1946)

You Danes really are a sorry lot if you think that the day will dawn when you'll get hold of Snæfríður, Iceland's sun.

Íslandsklukkan (Iceland's Bell) (1946)

When's there ever been a decent saint who didn't start out as a thief?

Íslandsklukkan (Iceland's Bell) (1946)

It's both ludicrous and embarrassing to recall one's youth.

Íslandsklukkan (Iceland's Bell) (1946)

A man's conscience is an unsteady judge of right and wrong.

Íslandsklukkan (Iceland's Bell) (1946)

The fire's hottest for the one who burns himself.

Íslandsklukkan (Iceland's Bell) (1946)

Misdeeds that are repented no longer exist.

Íslandsklukkan (Iceland's Bell) (1946)

When has human fortune ever been regarded as something better than a crime, or been enjoyed in any other way than in secret, directly contrary to the laws of God and man?

Íslandsklukkan (Iceland's Bell) (1946)

It's an honor to be beheaded. Even a little churl becomes a man by being beheaded.

Íslandsklukkan (Iceland's Bell) (1946)

Dear Snæfríður, is it not clear to you how disastrous your words were, when you said just now that you do not fear the eye of God watching over you?

Íslandsklukkan (Iceland's Bell) (1946)

All creation complains and moans, my dear lord Commissarius. Complaint is its distinctive sound.

Íslandsklukkan (Iceland's Bell) (1946)

Gold is precious because it resembles the sun. Silver has the light of the moon.

Íslandsklukkan (Iceland's Bell) (1946)

Icelanders are grateful to meet foreigners who have heard of their country. And even more grateful to hear someone say it deserves better.

Íslandsklukkan (Iceland's Bell) (1946)

As a rule, the only way that anyone could escape from the castle of Bremerholm was through a dead-end opening: namely, the grave.

Íslandsklukkan (Iceland's Bell) (1946)

When I was in Bessastaðir I had a jug of water—and an ax. A well-sharpened ax is a fine tool. On the other hand I've never been fond of the gallows, and never less than when I wrestled a hanged man.

Íslandsklukkan (Iceland's Bell) (1946)

These people, who have since antiqui possessed the most distinguished litteras in the northern part of the world, choose now to walk upon calfskin or to eat calfskin rather than to read the old words written upon calfskin.

Íslandsklukkan (Iceland's Bell) (1946)

If there's one thing I despise, it's brennivín . . . [T]here no longer exists within me a single spark of longing for brennivín.

Íslandsklukkan (Iceland's Bell) (1946)

I've never known justice to be used for anything other than the taking of poor men's lives. That's why I'm begging you, since you know how to speak to great men, to protect Jón Hreggviðson from justice.

Íslandsklukkan (Iceland's Bell) (1946)

The raven is the bird of all the gods. It was the bird of Odin and the bird of Jesus Christ. It will also be the bird of the god Skandilán, who has yet to be born. Whomever the raven rends attains salvation.

Íslandsklukkan (Iceland's Bell) (1946)

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Halldór Laxness (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.