72 quotes
The spirit of truth and the spirit of freedom — these are the pillars of society.
The Pillars of Society (1877)
A community is like a ship; everyone ought to be prepared to take the helm.
An Enemy of the People (1882)
Whether I pound or am being pounded,
all the same there will be moaning!
Peer Gynt (1867)
A thousand words can't
make the mark a single deed will leave.
Brand (1866)
The State has its root in time, and will ripe and rot in time.
I've the most extraordinary longing to say 'Bloody Hell'!
A Doll's House (1879)
That power which circumstances placed in my hands, and which is an emanation of divinity, I am conscious of having used to the best of my skill. I have never wittingly wronged any one.
You should never wear your best trousers when you go out to fight for freedom and truth.
An Enemy of the People (1882)
You see, the point is that the strongest man in the world is he who stands most alone.
An Enemy of the People (1882)
If you take the life lie from an average man, you take away his happiness as well.
The Wild Duck (1884)
But good God, people don’t do such things!
Hedda Gabler (1890)
Oh courage...oh yes! If only one had that...Then life might be livable, in spite of everything.
Hedda Gabler (1890)
When we dead awaken. … We see that we have never lived.
When We Dead Awaken (1899)
There must be ghosts all over the world. They must be as countless as the grains of the sands, it seems to me. And we are so miserably afraid of the light, all of us.
Ghosts (1881)
I hold that man is in the right who is most closely in league with the future.
There can be no freedom or beauty about a home life that depends on borrowing and debt.
A Doll's House (1879)
One should never put on one's best trousers to go out to battle for freedom and truth.
The common people are nothing more than the raw material of which a People is made.
An Enemy of the People (1882)
People who don't know how to keep themselves healthy ought to have the decency to get themselves buried, and not waste time about it.
When We Dead Awaken (1899)
You don't get nothing for nothing in this life.
A Doll's House (1879)