Quotes from The Brothers Lionheart

“Men då sa Jonatan att det fanns saker som man måste göra, även om det var farligt. ’Varför då’, undrade jag. ’Annars är man ingen människa utan bara en liten lort’, sa Jonatan.”
― Astrid Lindgren, quote from The Brothers Lionheart

“But I can't kill anyone,' said Jonathan, 'you know that Orvar!' 'Not even if it means your life?' asked Orvar. 'No, not even then,' said Jonathan. Orvar couldn't understand this and Mattias hardly could, either. 'If everyone were like you,' said Orvar, 'then evil would rule for all eternity!' But then I said that if everyone were like Jonathan, then there would be no evil.”
― Astrid Lindgren, quote from The Brothers Lionheart

“Why did you save Park's life, was that so good?'

'I don't know if it was such a good thing to do,' said Jonathan. 'But there are things you have to do, otherwise you're not a human being, just a piece of dirt. I've said this to you before.'

'But what if he'd realized who you were?' I said. 'And they had caught you!'

'Well, then they would've caught Lionheart and not a piece of dirt,' said Jonathan.”
― Astrid Lindgren, quote from The Brothers Lionheart

“Men jag kan inte döda någon’, sa Jonatan, ’det vet du, Orvar!’ […]
’Om alla vore som du’, sa Orvar, ’då skulle ju ondskan få regera i all evinnerlighet!’
Men då sa jag att om alla vore som Jonatan, så skulle det inte finnas någon ondska.”
― Astrid Lindgren, quote from The Brothers Lionheart

“But I can’t kill anyone,” said Jonathan. “You know that, Orvar.”
“Not even if it’s a question of your own life?” said Orvar.
“No, not even then,” said Jonathan.
Orvar couldn’t understand that, and neither could Mathias.
“If everyone were like you,” said Orvar, “then evil would reign forever.”
But then I said that if everyone were like Jonathan, there wouldn’t be any evil.”
― Astrid Lindgren, quote from The Brothers Lionheart

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Popular quotes

“You can have all the right ingredients, have measured them carefully and mixed them, but without warmth, you'll end up with a loaf of bread flatter than a plate. And while you might be able to eat it, it won't feed you.”
― quote from Stray

“The simplest truth about man is that he is a very strange being; almost in the sense of being a stranger on the earth. In all sobriety, he has much more of the external appearance of one bringing alien habits from another land than of a mere growth of this one.

He cannot sleep in his own skin; he cannot trust his own instincts. He is at once a creator moving miraculous hands and fingers and a kind of cripple. He is wrapped in artificial bandages called clothes; he is propped on artificial crutches called furniture. His mind has the same doubtful liberties and the same wild limitations. Alone among the animals, he is shaken with the beautiful madness called laughter; as if he had caught sight of some secret in the very shape of the universe hidden from the universe itself. Alone among the animals he feels the need of averting his thought from the root realities of his own bodily being; of hiding them as in the presence of some higher possibility which creates the mystery of shame.”
― G.K. Chesterton, quote from The Everlasting Man

“We might be mad or stupid, but at least we were serious.”
― Lawrence Anthony, quote from Babylon's Ark: The Incredible Wartime Rescue of the Baghdad Zoo

“Ставаше мъчна и даже неприятна за гледане. Седеше си там, върху стената на двора, да си смуче косите и да отговаря зле на всеки, който я доближаваше. „Ей, Бяло пиперче”, прегръщах я. И все едно прегръщах една непоколебима гордост, най-малко примамливата част от самата мен. Онази безкрайно твърда скала, която никога не би позволила някой да ме обича безрезервно. Себина бе в състояние да достигне до моята самота, бяхме еднакви. Високомерни и глупави. Залепваше се за врата ми, носех я у дома при майка й, краката, увиснали до тялото ни нагоре по стълбите. Вече оздравяла, мракът се беше разсеял. Никога не съм била от онези хора, имащи усет за децата, нямам това търпение, не говоря с детско гласче. Но Себина беше друг случай. Божи дар, предвестница на любовта. Виждам отново площадката, където спирах да си поема дух между етажите, защото тежеше, сивия вътрешен двор през високия лъскав прозорец, помръкващата вече светлина ... а на врата ми тя, нейният дъх, нейната мистерия.”
― Margaret Mazzantini, quote from Twice Born

“She walked about with the rather fated expression you see in photographs of girls who have subsequently been murdered, but nothing had so far happened to her.”
― Elizabeth Bowen, quote from The Death of the Heart

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About BookQuoters

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.