Jostein Gaarder Quotes

Quotes about:

Adventure Children Giving Moon Philosophy Understanding Universe

An answer is always on the stretch of road that is behind you. Only a question can point the way forward.

Jostein Gaarder

Way Forward, Answers, Behind You

22 Copy quote
Life is both sad and solemn. We are led into a wonderful world, we meet one another here, greet each other---and wander together for a brief moment. Then we lose each other and disappear as suddenly and unreasonably as we arrived.

Jostein Gaarder

Together, World, Life Is

24 Copy quote
How terribly sad it was that people are made in such a way that they get used to something as extraordinary as living.

Jostein Gaarder

People, Way, Used

37 Copy quote
To wonder about life is not something we learn; it is something we forget.

Jostein Gaarder

Wonder, Life Is, Forget

4 Copy quote
A state that does not educate and train women is like a man who only trains his right arm.

Jostein Gaarder

Women, Equality, Doe

Jostein Gaarder (2010). “Sophie's World”, p.86, Hachette UK

49 Copy quote
Life consists of a long chain of coincidences.

Jostein Gaarder

Long, Coincidence, Chains

Jostein Gaarder (2010). “Sophie's World”, p.194, Hachette UK

8 Copy quote
A hydrogen atom in a cell at the end of my nose was once part of an elephant's trunk. A carbon atom in my cardiac muscle was once in the tail of a dinosaur.

Jostein Gaarder

Cells, Elephants, Hydrogen Atom

43 Copy quote
You can never know if a person forgives you when you wrong them. Therefore it is existentially important to you. It is a question you are intensely concerned with. Neither can you know whether a person loves you. It’s something you just have to believe or hope. But these things are more important to you than the fact that the sum of the angles in a triangle is 180 degrees. You don't think about the law of cause and effect or about modes of perception when you are in the middle of your first kiss.

Jostein Gaarder

Believe, Love You, Kissing

38 Copy quote
The most subversive people are those who ask questions.

Jostein Gaarder

People, Subversive, Asks

23 Copy quote
When we look up at the sky, we are trying to find the way to ourselves.

Jostein Gaarder

Sky, Trying, Looks

13 Copy quote
Superstitious." What a strange word. If you believed in Christianity or Islam, it was called "faith". But if you believed in astrology or Friday the thirteenth it was superstition! Who had the right to call other people's belief superstition?

Jostein Gaarder

Friday, Astrology, People

36 Copy quote
I sat thinking how terribly sad it was that people are made in such a way that they get used to something as incredible as living. One day we suddenly take the fact that we exist for granted - and then, yes, then we don’t think about it anymore until we are about to leave the world again.

Jostein Gaarder

Thinking, People, One Day

Jostein Gaarder (2003). “The Solitaire Mystery”, p.362, Macmillan

20 Copy quote
Ladies and Gentlemen...we are floating in Space!

Jostein Gaarder

Space, Gentleman, Floating

8 Copy quote
Yes, we too are stardust.

Jostein Gaarder

Stardust

"Sofies verden (Sophie's World)". Book by Jostein Gaarder, 1994.

4 Copy quote
The question of whether a thing is right or wrong, good or bad, must always be considered in relation to a persons needs.

Jostein Gaarder

Needs, Relation, Persons

Jostein Gaarder (2010). “Sophie's World”, p.62, Hachette UK

22 Copy quote
Acting responsibly is not a matter of strengthening our reason but of deepening our feelings for the welfare of others.

Jostein Gaarder

Feelings, Acting, Matter

Jostein Gaarder (2010). “Sophie's World”, p.240, Hachette UK

9 Copy quote
Life is short for those who are truly able to understand that one day the entire world will come to a complete end. Not everyone is capable of that. Not everyone has the ability to comprehend what going away for all eternity really implies. There are too many distractions, hour by hour, minute by minute, to hinder such an understanding.

Jostein Gaarder

Life Is Short, Understanding, One Day

Jostein Gaarder (2010). “The Orange Girl”, p.71, Hachette UK

13 Copy quote
We are the living planet!

Jostein Gaarder

Life, Planets

7 Copy quote
The only thing we require to be good philosophers is the faculty of wonder.

Jostein Gaarder

Philosopher, Wonder, Faculty

Jostein Gaarder (2010). “Sophie's World”, p.23, Hachette UK

8 Copy quote
Where both reason and experience fall short, there occurs a vacuum that can be filled by faith.

Jostein Gaarder

Fall, Vacuums, Reason

Jostein Gaarder (2010). “Sophie's World”, p.282, Hachette UK

5 Copy quote
The stupidest thing she knew was for people to act like they knew all about the things they knew absolutely nothing about.

Jostein Gaarder

People, Stupidest, Absolutely Nothing

7 Copy quote
Wasn’t it extraordinary to be in the world right now, wandering around in a wonderful adventure!

Jostein Gaarder

Adventure, Wandering Around, World

21 Copy quote
All beauty that surrounds us must one day perish.

Jostein Gaarder

One Day, Surround

8 Copy quote
Health is the natural condition. When sickness occurs, it is a sign that Nature has gone off course because of a physical or mental imbalance. The road to health for everyone is through moderation, harmony, and a 'sound mind in a sound body'.

Jostein Gaarder

Mind, Balance, Sound Body

"Sophie's World". Book by Jostein Gaarder, 1995.

20 Copy quote
Our lives are part of a unique adventure... Nevertheless, most of us think the world is 'normal' and are constantly hunting for something abnormal--like angels or Martians. But that is just because we don't realize the world is a mystery. As for myself, I felt completely different. I saw the world as an amazing dream. I was hunting for some kind of explanation of how everything fit together.

Jostein Gaarder

Dream, Adventure, Angel

Jostein Gaarder (2003). “The Solitaire Mystery”, p.166, Macmillan

9 Copy quote

You May Also Like:

Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Jostein Gaarder

Follow

Born: August 8, 1952
Occupation: Author
Cite this Page: Citation

Popular Topics