“It is, God help me, not the philologists who make languages.”

Original: Det ær, Gud straffe mig, ikke Filologerne, som lager Sprogene. — A witty insistence that living speech is created by people rather than academics · Speech to the Student Union, 1908 (Norwegian)

• Culture
• Language
• Wit

“We must be confident that life is fundamentally good, that even after frightening disasters, the earth is bathed in a flood of strength whose sources are eternal.”

Original: Vi må tro på at livet dypest sett er godt, at jorden selv etter de forferdeligste katastrofer skylles av en strøm av kraft hvis kilder er evige. — A stirring expression of ultimate optimism and resilience in the face of hardship · Nobel Banquet speech, 1903 (Norwegian)

• Hope
• Life
• Strength

“Even the greatest man on earth must nurture the child within his breast.”

Original: Den største mann på jorden må pleie barnet i sitt bryst. — Advocates preserving childlike openness and wonder regardless of status · Attributed remark (Norwegian)

• Childhood
• Greatness
• Humility