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Always do that, wild ducks do. They shoot to the bottom as deep as they can get, sir — and bite themselves fast in the tangle and seaweed — and all the devil's own mess that grows down there. And they never come up again.

— Henrik Ibsen The Wild Duck (1884)

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More quotes by Henrik Ibsen

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.

All Henrik Ibsen quotes →

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Henrik Ibsen (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.