Pan Quotes

“I love three things, I then say. I love a dream of love I once had, I love you, and I love this patch of earth.

And which do you love best?

The dream.”
― Knut Hamsun, Pan

“Do not forget, some give little, and it is much for them, others give all, and it costs them no effort; who then has given most?”
― Knut Hamsun, Pan

“The other one he loved like a slave, like a madman and like a beggar. Why? Ask the dust on the road and the falling leaves, ask the mysterious God of life; for no one knows such things. She gave him nothing, no nothing did she give him and yet he thanked her. She said: Give me your peace and your reason! And he was only sorry she did not ask for his life.”
― Knut Hamsun, Pan

“You are right; I am not good at moving in society. Be merciful. You do not understand me; I live in the woods by choice--that is my happiness. Here, where I am all alone, it can hurt no one that I am as I am; but when I go among others, I have to use all my will power to be as I should.”
― Knut Hamsun, Pan

“There was a rock in front of my hut, a tall, gray rock. By its looks it seemed to be well-disposed toward me...”
― Knut Hamsun, Pan

“A shaft of sweetness shoots through me from top to toe when the sun rises; I shoulder my gun in silent exaltation.”
― Knut Hamsun, Pan

“A maiden was imprisoned in a stone tower. She loved a lord. Why? Ask the wind and the stars, ask the god of life; for no one else knows these things. And the lord was her friend and her lover; but time passed, and one fine day he saw someone else and his heart turned away. As a youth he loved the maiden. Often he called her his bliss and his dove, and her embrace was hot and heaving. He said, Give me your heart! And she did so. He said, May I ask you for something, my love? And she answered, in raptures, Yes. She gave him all, and yet he never thanked her. The other one he loved like a slave, like a madman and a beggar. Why? Ask the dust on the road and the falling leaves, ask life’s mysterious god; for no one else knows these things. She gave him nothing, no, nothing did she give him, and yet he thanked her. She said, Give me your peace and your sanity. And he only grieved that she didn’t ask for his life. And the maiden was put in the tower. . . .”
― Knut Hamsun, Pan

“I believe I can read a little in the souls of those around me; maybe it is not so. Oh, when I have a good day I feel as if I can peer deep into other people’s souls, although I don’t have a particularly good head on my shoulders. We sit in a room, some men and women and I, and I seem to see what is going on in the hearts of these people and what they think of me. I put something into every flashing glance of their eyes; occasionally the blood rushes to their cheeks so they turn red, at other times they pretend to be looking another way while still watching me out of the corner of their eyes. There I sit observing all this, and nobody suspects that I see through every soul. For several years I have thought I could read the souls of everybody. Maybe it is not so. . . .”
― Knut Hamsun, Pan

“Gladness is intoxicating. I fire my gun and an unforgettable echo answers from crag to crag, floats out over the sea and rings in some sleepless helmsman’s ears. What am I glad about? A thought that comes to me, a memory, a sound in the forest, a human being. I think of her—I close my eyes and stand still on the road and think of her, counting the minutes.”
― Knut Hamsun, Pan

“Det kan regne og storme, det er ikke derpaa det kommer an, ofte kan en liten Glæde bemægtige sig en paa en Regnveirsdag og faa en til at gaa avsides med sin Lykke. Man stiller sig da op og gir sig til at se ret frem, nu og da ler man tyst og ser sig omkring. Hvad tenker man paa? En klar Rute i et Vindu, en Solstraale i Ruten, en Utsigt til en liten Bæk og kanske til en blaa Rift på Himlen. Det behøver ikke at være mere.”
― Knut Hamsun, Pan

“Til andre Tider kan selv usædvanlige Oplevelser ikke formaa at rykke en ut av en jævn og fattig Stemning; midt i en Ballsal kan man sitte sikker, likegyldig og upaavirket. For det er ens eget Indre som er Sorgens eller Glædens Kilde.”
― Knut Hamsun, Pan

“Og intet Rop, intet Menneskes Ord hørtes noget Sted, ingenting, men bare det tunge Sus omkring mit Hode.”
― Knut Hamsun, Pan

“A veces añoro lugares que ni siquiera sé que existen.”
― Knut Hamsun, Pan

“Engang kom han med skjorten åpen og han var tykt lodden på brystet. Det er som en eng å lægge sig i! tænkte jeg, for jeg var så ung. Jeg kysset ham nogen ganger, det er på det jeg vet at jeg aldrig har oplevet noget lignende.”
― Knut Hamsun, Pan

“Jeg gik Dag efter Dag i Aaserne med Æsop ved min Side og jeg ønsket intet heller end at faa vedbli at gaa der Dag efter Dag, skjønt det endnu laa Sne og bløt Sørpe over den halve Mark.”
― Knut Hamsun, Pan

“After an hour my senses begin to vibrate in a definite rhythm, I tune into the great stillness, I tune in. I gaze at the crescent moon sitting like a white shell in the sky, and I have a feeling of love for it, I feel I’m blushing. It’s the moon, I say softly and passionately, it’s the moon! And my heart beats toward it with a gentle throbbing. It lasts for several minutes. It blows a little, a strange wind is coming, an unusual blast of air. What is it? I look around and see no one. The wind calls me and my soul bows in answer to the call,37 I feel myself lifted out of my sphere, pressed to an invisible breast, my eyes are moist with tears, I tremble—God is somewhere near looking at me. This lasts for another few minutes. I turn my head, the strange blast of air is gone, and I see something like the back of a spirit wandering soundlessly through the forest. . . .”
― Knut Hamsun, Pan

“But it doesn’t matter. Nothing matters now.” And the sound of her voice in the forest was just like a little tremulous song.   And the leaves turn even more yellow, fall is approaching; more stars have appeared in the sky, and from now on the moon looks like a shadow of silver dipped in gold.”
― Knut Hamsun, Pan

“U jesen može se katkad videti, kako zvezde padaju. Eto, mislim ja tada u svojoj samoći, možda se to trza čitav jedan svet tamo gore? Svet se raspada u komade pred mojim očima? I meni – je palo u deo, da u svom životu vidim smrt zvezda!”
― Knut Hamsun, Pan

“Det sætter en søt Stripe gjennem mig fra øverst til nederst naar Solen staar op; jeg kaster Børsen paa Akslen under en tyst Jubel.”
― Knut Hamsun, Pan

“Fra min Hytte kunde jeg se et Virvar av Øer og Holmer og Skjær, litt av Sjøen, nogen blaanende Fjældtinder, og bak Hytten laa Skogen, en uhyre Skog. Jeg blev fuld av Glæde og Tak ved Duften av Røtter og Løv, av den fete Os av Furuen, som minder om Lukten av Marv; først i Skogen kom alt indeni mig i Stilhet, min Sjæl blev egal og fuld av Magt.”
― Knut Hamsun, Pan

“I de siste Dager har jeg tænkt og tænkt paa Nordlandssommerens evige Dag. Jeg sitter her og tænker paa den og paa en Hytte som jeg bodde i og paa Skogen bak Hytten og jeg gir mig til at skrive noget ned for at forkorte Tiden og for min Fornøielses Skyld.”
― Knut Hamsun, Pan

“Wasn’t Pan sitting in a tree watching to see how I would comport myself? Wasn’t his belly open, and wasn’t he hunched over so that he seemed to be drinking from his own belly? But all this he did only so he could cock his eye and watch me, and the whole tree shook from his silent laughter when he saw that my thoughts were running away with me.”
― Knut Hamsun, Pan

“Rain and storm—'tis not such things that count. Many a time some little joy can come along on a rainy day, and make a man turn off somewhere to be alone with his happiness—stand up somewhere and look out straight ahead, laughing quietly now and again, and looking around. What is there to think of? One clear pane in a window, a ray of sunlight in the pane, the sight of a little brook, or maybe a blue strip of sky between the clouds. It needs no more than that.

At other times, even quite unusual happenings cannot avail to lift a man from dullness and poverty of mind; one can sit in the middle of a ballroom and be cool, indifferent, unaffected by anything. Sorrow and joy are from within oneself.”
― Knut Hamsun, Pan

“¿no cree usted, señorita, que los seres humanos de esta región se parecen al corto verano? ¿que son tan efímeros y fascinantes como él?”
― Knut Hamsun, Pan

“Det var gode tider, dagene blev længere og luften mere skjær, jeg rustet mig for to dager og drev tilfjælds, til fjældtinderne, jeg traf renlapper og fik ost av dem, små fete oster med urteagtig smak. Jeg var der mere end en gang.”
― Knut Hamsun, Pan

“...porque es tu propio interior el que constituye la fuente del dolor y de la alegría.”
― Knut Hamsun, Pan

“Usred dvorane za zabave možeš ostati ravnodušan, siguran i neponesen opštim raspoloženjem. Jer je sopstvena duša čovekova izvor tuge i radosti.”
― Knut Hamsun, Pan

“...for it is within ourselves in which the sources of joy and sorrow lie...”
― Knut Hamsun, Pan

“But he is something, he is something,” she cried, and her voice broke with anger. “He is far more than you think, you thing of the woods. You wait. Oh, he shall talk to you—I will ask him myself. You don't believe I love him, but you shall see you are mistaken. I will marry him; I will think of him night and day. Mark what I say: I love him. Let Eva come if she likes—hahaha! Heavens, let her come—it is less than nothing to me. And now let me get away from here...”

She began walking down the path from the hut; she took a few small hurried steps, turned round, her face still pale as death, and moaned: “And let me never see your face again.”
― Knut Hamsun, Pan

“-სამი რამ მიყვარს. მიყვარს სიზმარი სიყვარულზე, ოდესღაც რომ მესიზმრა, მიყვარხარ შენ და მიყვარს მიწის ეს ნაგლეჯი.
-და რა გიყვარს ყველაზე მეტად?
-სიზმარი.”
― Knut Hamsun, Pan