"Do you know that these mountains you're looking at don't really exist at all? Or can't you see that they belong more to the sky than the earth? All this enchanting blueness which enthralls you is an illusion."

Halldór Laxness Literature See all quotes by Halldór Laxness →

React to this quote

More by Halldór Laxness

“o anyone who weeps, life has some importance.”

“It's a useful habit to never believe more than half of what people tell you, and not to concern yourself with the rest. Rather keep your mind free and your path your own.”

“My image will soon be obliterated; it was only an illusion. But even though I may fall, even though my image may be obliterated, there is one thing that will never fall and can never be obliterated, and that is the yearning of those in chains for liberty.”

“You should deny facts if they're inconvenient.”

“He who weeps does not die; weeping is a sign of life; weep, and your life is worth something again.”

“They thought I was an Icelander! But I'm no Icelander, s'help me!”

Resonant Thoughts

"I remember being really shocked after Mellow Gold came out and going on tour, and all these kids were there. It totally disturbed me. Who are all these young people? I'd been playing Mississippi John …"

— Beck

Music1914–2008

#philosophy

"Once, as Mung went his way athwart the Earth and up and down its cities and across its plains, Mung came upon a man who was afraid when Mung said: “I am Mung!"

— Edward Plunkett

Military1808–1668

#nature

"Nobles’ sons are one of nature’s great destructive forces, like floods or tornadoes. When you’re struck with one of these catastrophes, the only thing an average man can do is grit his teeth and try t…"

— Patrick Rothfuss

Literature1973

#nature

"The truth is that the love of mankind is a single season among so many others. The truth is that we have within us something much more mortal than we are, and that it is this, all the same, which is a…"

— Henri Barbusse

Literature1910–1939

#love