“ No day is alike - I do many other things, and I'm very active in the environmental movement. Jostein Gaarder
“ I never tried to ingratiate myself with great writers. When a great writer has nothing to say, he does something else, like chopping firewood. A great writer doesn't try to find something to write abo… Jostein Gaarder
“ Nevertheless we are free individuals, and this freedom condemns us to make choices throughout our lives. There are no eternal values or norms we can adhere to, which makes our choices even more signif… Jostein Gaarder
“ We cry when something is sad. Then we often shed a tear when something's beautiful as well. When something's funny or ugly, we laugh. Perhaps we are sad when something is beautiful because we know tha… Jostein Gaarder
“ Over the entrance to the temple at Delphi was a famous inscription: KNOW THYSELF! It reminded visitors that man must never believe himself to be more than mortal - and that no man can escape his desti… Jostein Gaarder
“ Socrates himself said, 'One thing only I know, and this is that I know nothing.' Remember this statement, because it is an admission that is rare, even among philosophers. Moreover, it can be so dange… Jostein Gaarder
“ It's not him who's disturbed. But he likes to disturb others--to shake them out of their rut. Jostein Gaarder
“ The story goes that one day Socrates stood gazing at a stall that sold allkinds of wares. Finally he said, “What a lot of things I don’t need! Jostein Gaarder
“ I wonder whether the Christmas feeling has anything to do with the sixth sense. Perhaps we're a little more the angels at Christmas than we are during the rest of the year. And Christmas is about all… Jostein Gaarder
“ We don't learn anything there [school]. The difference between schoolteachers and philosophers us that school-teachers think they know a lot of stuff that they try to force down our throats. Philosoph… Jostein Gaarder
“ Acting responsibly is not a matter of strengthening our reason but of deepening our feelings for the welfare of others. Jostein Gaarder
“ Even though God could create all kinds of things, he could hardly create himself before he had a "self" to create with. So there was only one possibility left: God had always existed. But she had alre… Jostein Gaarder
“ Since the Renaissance, people have had to get used to living their life on a random planet in the vast galaxy. Jostein Gaarder
“ If an overgrown child draws something on a piece of paper, you can't ask the paper what the drawing is supposed to represent. Jostein Gaarder
“ The faculty of vision can vary from person to person. On the other hand, we can rely on what our reason tells us because that is the same for everyone Jostein Gaarder
“ We can be hindered in our development and our personal growth by political conditions. Outer circumstances can constrain us. Only when we are free to develop our innate abilities can we live as free b… Jostein Gaarder
