Quotes by Norwegian Authors | Beyond Motive 5/5

top of page

Quotes by Norwegian Authors

"Most of my father's life consisted of traveling to almost every part of Europe."

"Most of my father's life consisted of traveling to almost every part of Europe."

Sigrid Undset, Norwegian Novelist

Life, Father, Europe, Traveling

10

"Health is the core of human development."

"Health is the core of human development."

Gro Harlem Brundtland, Norwegian Politician

Health, Development

10

"You are welcome to your intellectual pastimes and books and art and newspapers; welcome, too, to your bars and your whisky that only makes me ill. Here am I in the forest, quite content."

"You are welcome to your intellectual pastimes and books and art and newspapers; welcome, too, to your bars and your whisky that only makes me ill. Here am I in the forest, quite content."

Knut Hamsun, Norwegian Author

Art, Books, Content, Newspapers

10

"To die is as if one's eyes had been put out and one cannot see anything any more. Perhaps it is like being shut in a cellar. One is abandoned by all. They have slammed the door and are gone. One does not see anything and notices only the damp smell of putrefaction."

"To die is as if one's eyes had been put out and one cannot see anything any more. Perhaps it is like being shut in a cellar. One is abandoned by all. They have slammed the door and are gone. One does not see anything and notices only the damp smell of putrefaction."

Edvard Munch, Norwegian Artist

10

"I build a kind of wall between myself and t he model so that I can paint in peace behind it. Otherwise, she might say something that confuses and distracts me."

"I build a kind of wall between myself and t he model so that I can paint in peace behind it. Otherwise, she might say something that confuses and distracts me."

Edvard Munch, Norwegian Artist

10

"In my experience, it is rarer to find a really happy person in a circle of millionaires than among vagabonds."

"In my experience, it is rarer to find a really happy person in a circle of millionaires than among vagabonds."

Thor Heyerdahl, Norwegian Explorer

10

"We have received credible reports that show a clear and consistent pattern: entire villages are looted, burned down and sometimes bombed. Large numbers of civilians have been killed and scores of women and children have been abducted, raped and tortured."

"We have received credible reports that show a clear and consistent pattern: entire villages are looted, burned down and sometimes bombed. Large numbers of civilians have been killed and scores of women and children have been abducted, raped and tortured."

Jan Egeland, Norwegian Public Servant

Woman, Women, Children, Numbers

10

"In old age we are like a batch of letters that someone has sent. We are no longer in the past, we have arrived."

"In old age we are like a batch of letters that someone has sent. We are no longer in the past, we have arrived."

Knut Hamsun, Norwegian Author

Age, Letters, Old, Past

10

"Youth must go ahead and prosper. These young painters are all very talented people, but they all paint frescoes."

"Youth must go ahead and prosper. These young painters are all very talented people, but they all paint frescoes."

Edvard Munch, Norwegian Artist

9

"One of the qualities of liberty is that, as long as it is being striven after, it goes on expanding. Therefore, the man who stands in the midst of the struggle and says, "I have it," merely shows by doing so that he has just lost it."

"One of the qualities of liberty is that, as long as it is being striven after, it goes on expanding. Therefore, the man who stands in the midst of the struggle and says, "I have it," merely shows by doing so that he has just lost it."

Henrik Ibsen, Norwegian Poet

Being, Liberty, Man, Struggle

9

"A community is like a ship; everyone ought to be prepared to take the helm."

"A community is like a ship; everyone ought to be prepared to take the helm."

Henrik Ibsen, Norwegian Poet

9

"The worst enemy of truth and freedom in our society is the compact majority."

"The worst enemy of truth and freedom in our society is the compact majority."

Henrik Ibsen, Norwegian Poet

Society, Truth, Enemy, Freedom

9

"You cannot achieve environmental security and human development without addressing the basic issues of health and nutrition."

"You cannot achieve environmental security and human development without addressing the basic issues of health and nutrition."

Gro Harlem Brundtland, Norwegian Politician

Environment, Environmental, Health, Development, Security

9

"What business has science and capitalism got, bringing all these new inventions into the works, before society has produced a generation educated up to using them!"

"What business has science and capitalism got, bringing all these new inventions into the works, before society has produced a generation educated up to using them!"

Henrik Ibsen, Norwegian Poet

Business, Science, Society, Capitalism

9

"The dual scourge of hunger and malnutrition will be truly vanquished not only when granaries are full, but also when people's basic health needs are met and women are given their rightful role in societies."

"The dual scourge of hunger and malnutrition will be truly vanquished not only when granaries are full, but also when people's basic health needs are met and women are given their rightful role in societies."

Gro Harlem Brundtland, Norwegian Politician

Health, Women, People, Hunger

9

"One should never put on one's best trousers to go out to battle for freedom and truth."

"One should never put on one's best trousers to go out to battle for freedom and truth."

Henrik Ibsen, Norwegian Poet

Truth, Battle, Freedom

9

"These heroes of finance are like beads on a string; when one slips off, all the rest follow."

"These heroes of finance are like beads on a string; when one slips off, all the rest follow."

Henrik Ibsen, Norwegian Poet

Finance, Heroes, Rest

9

"For as long as I can remember I have suffered from a deep feeling of anxiety which I have tried to express in my art."

"For as long as I can remember I have suffered from a deep feeling of anxiety which I have tried to express in my art."

Edvard Munch, Norwegian Artist

Art, Anxiety, Deep, Feeling

9

"I went to work in an office and learned, among other lessons, to do things I did not care for, and to do them well. Before I left this office, two of my books had already been published."

"I went to work in an office and learned, among other lessons, to do things I did not care for, and to do them well. Before I left this office, two of my books had already been published."

Sigrid Undset, Norwegian Novelist

Work, Books, Care, Office

8

"Suddenly a mist fell from my eyes and I knew the way I had to take."

"Suddenly a mist fell from my eyes and I knew the way I had to take."

Edvard Grieg, Norwegian Composer

8

"If we dare to come closer to our fellow human beings, we will be able to see and understand them better."

"If we dare to come closer to our fellow human beings, we will be able to see and understand them better."

Kjell Magne Bondevik, Norwegian Statesman

8

"Villa Grande has in many ways symbolized an important, but less than pleasant, part of our history."

"Villa Grande has in many ways symbolized an important, but less than pleasant, part of our history."

Kjell Magne Bondevik, Norwegian Statesman

8

"If I leave, reality will devour me. Then they will all really be dead."

"If I leave, reality will devour me. Then they will all really be dead."

Asne Seierstad, Norwegian Journalist

7

"I rolled myself up into a tight ball of resistance and it was thus that I went through my school years."

"I rolled myself up into a tight ball of resistance and it was thus that I went through my school years."

Sigrid Undset, Norwegian Novelist

7

"In recognising the global problem posed by osteoporosis, WHO sees the need for a global strategy for prevention and control of osteoporosis, focusing on three major functions: prevention, management and surveillance."

"In recognising the global problem posed by osteoporosis, WHO sees the need for a global strategy for prevention and control of osteoporosis, focusing on three major functions: prevention, management and surveillance."

Gro Harlem Brundtland, Norwegian Politician

Strategy, Control, Management, Prevention

7

"Artists like Bach and Beethoven erected churches and temples on the heights. I only wanted... to build dwellings for men in which they might feel happy and at home."

"Artists like Bach and Beethoven erected churches and temples on the heights. I only wanted... to build dwellings for men in which they might feel happy and at home."

Edvard Grieg, Norwegian Composer

Home, Men, Artists, Churches

7

"When I decided to stay in Iraq, I decided to take the fear out of my body and put it into a freezer."

"When I decided to stay in Iraq, I decided to take the fear out of my body and put it into a freezer."

Asne Seierstad, Norwegian Journalist

Fear, Body, Iraq

7

"As the only woman, I was able to sit with the officers in front, with a glass of vodka in one hand and a cucumber in the other. That's how I went to my first war."

"As the only woman, I was able to sit with the officers in front, with a glass of vodka in one hand and a cucumber in the other. That's how I went to my first war."

Asne Seierstad, Norwegian Journalist

War, First, Woman

5

"No worse fate can befall a young man or woman than becoming prematurely entrenched in prudence and negation."

"No worse fate can befall a young man or woman than becoming prematurely entrenched in prudence and negation."

Knut Hamsun, Norwegian Author

Fate, Man, Prudence, Woman

5

"I shall take all the troubles of the past, all the disappointments, all the headaches, and I shall pack them in a bag and throw them in the East River."

"I shall take all the troubles of the past, all the disappointments, all the headaches, and I shall pack them in a bag and throw them in the East River."

Trygve Lie, Norwegian Politician

Reflection, Disappointments, Past

1

bottom of page