"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."

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.”

“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!”

“I didn't expect you to have learnt to smile yet. When one is born, one only knows how to cry. It's only very gradually that one learns to smile.”

Resonant Thoughts

"It is doubtful that democracy could survive in a society organized on the principle of therapy rather than judgment, error rather than sin. If men are free and equal, they must be judged rather than h…"

— Francis D. Wormuth

Education1909–1980

#freedom

"The thing that I think very striking is that no one, or no one I can remember, ever writes of an execution with approval. The dominant note is always horror. Society, apparently, cannot get along wi…"

— George Orwell

performing arts1903–1950

#books

"I sit beside the fire and think Of all that I have seenOf meadow flowers and butterfliesIn summers that have beenOf yellow leaves and gossamerIn autumns that there wereWith morning mist and silver sun…"

— J.R.R. Tolkien

Literature1892–1973

#life

"Each type of action is related to the degree of authority used by the boss and to the amount of freedom available to subordinates in reaching decisions. The actions seen on the extreme left characteri…"

— Robert Tannenbaum

Psychology1915–2003

#freedom