Quotes from Doctor Glas

“We know so little about one another. We embrace a shadow and love a dream.”
― Hjalmar Söderberg, quote from Doctor Glas

“People want to be loved; failing that admired; failing that feared; failing that hated and despised. They want to evoke some sort of sentiment. The soul shudders before oblivion and seeks connection at any price.”
― Hjalmar Söderberg, quote from Doctor Glas

“We want to be loved; failing that, admired; failing that, feared; failing that, hated and despised. At all costs we want to stir up some sort of feeling in others. Our soul abhors a vacuum. At all costs it longs for contact.”
― Hjalmar Söderberg, quote from Doctor Glas

“Liv, jag förstår dig inte. Men jag säger inte att det är ditt fel. Jag håller det mera troligt jag är en vanartig son än att du är en ovärdig mor.”
― Hjalmar Söderberg, quote from Doctor Glas

“Nothing so reduces and drags down a human being as the consciousness of not being loved.”
― Hjalmar Söderberg, quote from Doctor Glas

“Thought is an acid, eating us away. At first we imagine it will only eat into that which is rotten and sick and must be removed. But thought thinks otherwise. It eats blindly. It begins with the prey you most gladly throw to it - but don't imagine it will be content with that! It doesn't stop until it has gnawed away the last thing you hold dear.”
― Hjalmar Söderberg, quote from Doctor Glas

“A pregnant woman is a frightful object. A new-born child is loathsome. A deathbed rarely makes so horrible an impression as childbirth, that terrible symphony of screams and filth and blood.”
― Hjalmar Söderberg, quote from Doctor Glas

“Am fost întotdeauna un singuratic. Mi-am purtat singurătatea prin mulțimea de oameni, așa cum își poartă melcul casa în spinare. La unii, singurătatea nu e o stare în care au ajuns printr-o întâmplare a vieții, ci o trăsătură fundamentală.”
― Hjalmar Söderberg, quote from Doctor Glas

“For youth, the moon is a promise of all those tremendous things which await it, for older people a memento that the promise was never kept, a reminder of all that broke and went to pieces...
And what is moonshine? Secondhand sunshine. Diluted, counterfeit.”
― Hjalmar Söderberg, quote from Doctor Glas

“De la nostalgia humana por el amor ha brotado al fin y al cabo toda la parte de la cultura que no se orienta directamente a calmar el hambre o a luchar contra los enemigos. El sentimiento de la belleza no mana de otra fuente. Todo el arte, toda la poesía, toda la música han bebido de ella. El más soso cuadro de historia moderno, las madonas de Rafael, y las obreritas parisinas de Steinlen, el 'Ángel de la Muerte' como el Cantar de los Cantares y el Buch der Lieder, oratorios y valses vieneses, incluso toda moldura de yeso en esta casa horrenda donde vivo, todo dibujo de la alfombra, la forma de aquel jarrón de porcelana y el diseño de mi bufanda, todo lo que pretende gustar y embellecer, tanto si lo logra como sino, viene de allí, aunque sea por caminos largos y tortuosos.”
― Hjalmar Söderberg, quote from Doctor Glas

“In the days when I was ambitious I worked out a very pretty little plan for conquering the whole earth and rearranging things as they ought to be; and when, in the end, everything became so good it almost began to be boring, then I was going to stuff my pockets with as much money as I could lay hands on and creep away, vanish in some cosmopolis and sit at a corner cafe and drink absinthe and enjoy seeing how everything went to the devil as soon as I wasn't on the scene any more.”
― Hjalmar Söderberg, quote from Doctor Glas

“Never will she be mine; never. I never brought a flush to her cheek, and it is not I who now have made it so chalk-white. And never will she slip across the street in the night, with anxiety in her heart and a letter to me.
Life has passed me by.

[..] I have got new curtains for my study; pure white. When I awoke this morning, I first thought it had been snowing. In my room the light was exactly as it is after the first fall of snow. I even fancied I caught the scent of snow freshly fallen. And soon it will come, the snow. One feels it in the air.
It will be welcome. Let it come. Let it fall.”
― Hjalmar Söderberg, quote from Doctor Glas

“Nothing diminishes and degrades a human being more than the knowledge of being unloved.”
― Hjalmar Söderberg, quote from Doctor Glas

“Besynnerligt, att det alltid går en rysning genom luften före soluppgången.”
― Hjalmar Söderberg, quote from Doctor Glas

“La moral no es más que ese famoso círculo de tiza alrededor de la gallina: sólo encierra a los que creen en ella”
― Hjalmar Söderberg, quote from Doctor Glas

“Varför skall kärleken vara trollguldet, som andra dagen blir vissna löv, eller smuts, eller ölsupa? Ur människornas längtan efter kärlek har ju hela den sidan av kulturen spirat upp, som icke direkt syftar till hungerns stillande eller försvar mot fiender. Vårt skönhetssinne har ingen annan källa. All konst, all dikt, all musik har druckit ur den. Den tarvligaste moderna historiemålning likaväl som Rafaels madonnor och Steinlens små parisiska arbeterskor, "Dödens ängel" likaväl som Höga visan och Buch der Lieder, koralen och Wienervalsen, ja varje gipsornament på det tarvliga hus där jag bor, varje figur i tapeten, formen på porslinsvasen där och mönstret i min halsduk, allt som vill pryda och försköna, det må nu lyckas eller misslyckas, stammar därifrån, fast på mycket långa omvägar ibland. Och det är intet nattligt hugskott av mig, utan bevisat hundra gånger.
Men den källan heter icke kärleken, utan den heter: drömmen om kärlek.
Och å andra sidan är allt, som står i samband med drömmens fullbordan, med driftens tillfredsställelse, och som följer av den, inför vår djupaste instinkt något oskönt och oanständigt. Detta kan icke bevisas, det är bara en känsla: min känsla, och jag tror egentligen allas. Människorna behandla alltid varandras kärlekshistorier som något lågt eller komiskt och göra ofta icke ens undantag för sina egna.”
― Hjalmar Söderberg, quote from Doctor Glas

“La moralidad es un servicio doméstico, no una divinidad. Conviene usarla, pero no debe mandar”
― Hjalmar Söderberg, quote from Doctor Glas

“Respectul față de viața omenească - ce poate să însemne asta în gura mea, decât o josnică ipocrizie, și ce altceva ar putea însemna pentru oricine care, uneori, zăbovește puțin asupra acestui gând? Lumea e ticsită de vieți omenești. Și nimeni, niciodată, n-a dat cu adevărat nici cea mai mică importanță vieților omenești străine, necunoscute, nevăzute, poate cu excepția câtorva filantropi, izbitor de prefăcuți.”
― Hjalmar Söderberg, quote from Doctor Glas

“Sí, ambicioso... Si lo llamo ambicioso, es sobre todo en honor a nuestra estrecha amistad, de otro modo se expresaría uno más correctamente diciendo que pega fuerte con los codos. La ambición es una cosa tan poco ordinaria... Nos hemos acostumbrado a decir que alguien es ambicioso cuando aspira a ser consejero de estado.”
― Hjalmar Söderberg, quote from Doctor Glas

“El Merkel de siempre. Es editorialista de un gran periódico, y a menudo escribe artículos de tono apocalíptico, que pretenden ser tomados en serio y en ocasiones lo merecen incluso. Mal afeitado y tembloroso por las mañanas, pero siempre elegante al atardecer, y dotado de un humorismo que se enciende al mismo tiempo que los faroles.”
― Hjalmar Söderberg, quote from Doctor Glas

“¿En qué pensaba yo mayormente, cuando me preparé esas pildoritas? Un suicidio por un infortunio amoroso nunca he sido capaz de concebirlo. Tal vez en la pobreza. La pobreza es temible. De todas las llamadas calamidades externas, la pobreza es la que se mete más adentro. Pero no parece que me ronde de muy cerca, yo mismo me cuento entre los bien situados, y la sociología me contaría entre los ricos. En lo que más pensaba entonces era en la enfermedad. una enfermedad larga, incurable, repugnante. Yo que he visto tantas cosas... Cáncer, lupus facial, ceguera, parálisis... Cuántos desgraciados habré visto a los que sin el menor remordimiento habría administrado una de esas píldoras de no ser porque, en mí como en otras personas decentes, el interés propio y el respeto a la ley han hablado más fuerte que la compasión. Y en cambio, cuánto material humano inútil y desesperadamente estropeado habré contribuido a conservar ejerciendo mi oficio sin ruborizarme siquiera de cobrar por mis servicios”
― Hjalmar Söderberg, quote from Doctor Glas

“Las mentes chatas acostumbran a estimar a un hombre según su posición económica. Yo sigo el camino opuesto y estimo la posición económica según el hombre”
― Hjalmar Söderberg, quote from Doctor Glas

“Sunt oameni cărora le lipsește orice aptitudine pentru fericire și își dau seama de asta cu o luciditate dureroasă și necruțătoare. Asemenea oameni nu urmăresc fericirea, ei urmăresc sa dea o oarecare formă și puțin stil nenorocirii lor.”
― Hjalmar Söderberg, quote from Doctor Glas

“Trec prin zile cenușii și clipe negre. Nu sunt fericit. Dar nu știu pe nimeni în locul căruia aș vrea să fiu; mi se strînge inima la gândul că aș putea fi vreunul din grupul meu de cunoștințe. Nu, n-aș vrea să fiu altcineva.
În prima tinerețe, am suferit enorm că nu eram frumos și, pentru că nutream cu ardoare dorința să fiu frumos, mi se părea că sunt de o urâțenie monstruoasă. Acum știu că arăt aproximativ ca majoritatea oamenilor. Nici asta nu-mi face cine știe ce plăcere.
Nu-mi prea place de mine, nici coaja, nici miezul. Dar n-aș vrea să fiu altcineva.”
― Hjalmar Söderberg, quote from Doctor Glas

“We want everything, we want to be everything. We want to experience all the joys of good fortune and the full depths of suffering. We want the excitement of action and the calm of observation. We want the silence of the desert as well as the noise of the forum. Simultaneously we want to be the hermit´s thought and the voice of the people; we want to be both melody and harmony. Simultaneously! How could this be possible?”
― Hjalmar Söderberg, quote from Doctor Glas

“Och det har till sist börjat gå upp för mig som en aning -: det är kanske icke meningen att man skall förstå livet. Allt detta raseri att förklara och förstå, all denna sanningsjakt är kanske en avväg.”
― Hjalmar Söderberg, quote from Doctor Glas

“We want everything, we want to be everything. We want to experience all the joys of good fortune and the full depths of suffering. We want the excitement of action and the calm of observation. We want the silence of the desert as well as the noise of the forum. Simultaneously we want to be the hermit´s thought and the voice of the people; we want to be both melody and harmony. Simultaneously! How could this be possible?
I want to go by land and by sea.”
― Hjalmar Söderberg, quote from Doctor Glas

“Nu trebuie să mergi până la rădăcina lucrurilor: căci te vei da tu la fund. Nu trebui să cauți adevărul: nu-l vei găsi și te duci tu de râpă. Să nu pui întrebări! Porția de adevăr care îți este de folos ți se dăruiește gratuit; e amestecată cu erori și minciuni, dar asta e spre binele sănătății tale, căci în stare pură ți-ar arde măruntaiele. Nu încerca să-ți cureți sufletul de minciuni, fiindcă trag după ele atâtea altele la care nici nu te-ai gândit, și-ți pierzi ego-ul și tot ce ți-e drag.”
― Hjalmar Söderberg, quote from Doctor Glas

“Potemkin only deceived his empress;
how much more despicable to deceive oneself.”
― Hjalmar Söderberg, quote from Doctor Glas

“Och vad är månskenet?
Solsken i andra hand. Försvagat, förfalskat.”
― Hjalmar Söderberg, quote from Doctor Glas

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BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.