Tove Jansson

“Hvis man prøver av alle krefter, til det ytterste, må det ikke være hensikten som teller mest, teller mer enn hvordan det til slutt gikk?”

“Å, Anna Aemelin, det eneste du bryr deg om, er din egen samvittighet, det er den du pleier.”

“Anna hadde gitt hunden et navn fordi alt navnløst har en tilbøyelighet til å vokse, hun avkledde dyrets farlighet ved å kalle det Teddy.”

“All things are so very uncertain, and that's exactly what makes me feel reassured.”

“... du försöker leva riktigt men jag försöker leva rikt, det är som en äng där jag plockar här och där av hjärtans lust men du går rakt igenom och kommer ut på andra sidan med tomma händer därför att du inte har hittat just den blomman du ville ha.”

“Mats har ingen hemmeligheter. Det er derfor han er så hemmelighetsfull. Ingen må forstyrre ham, han må få være uforstyrret i en forenklet og ren verden.”

“Ingen ting kan være så rolig og så uendelig som et langt vitermørke, det fortsetter og fortsetter, det er som å leve i en tunnel der mørket stundom fordyper seg til natt og stundom blir dagskumring, man er avskjermet fra alt, beskyttet og mer ensom enn ellers.”

“Folk våknet sent, for det var ikke noen morgen lenger, fiskerleiet lå lydløst under urørt snø mellom husene, til barna ble sluppet ut og gravde tunneler og huler og skrek og skulle passe seg selv.”

“I mean, anyone can let Danger out but the really clever thing is finding somewhere for it to go afterwards.”

“Akkurat nå tenker jeg på nordlys. Man vet ikke om det finnes eller bare synes. Alt er meget usikkert, og det er nettopp det som beroliger meg.”

“Du skjønner, det er så mye som ikke for plass om sommeren og høsten og våren", sa hun. "Alle som er litt sjenerte og litt rare. Forskjellige slags nattdyr og folk som ikke passer inn noen steder, og som ingen tror på. De holder seg unna hele året. Og så, når det er helt stille og hvitt og nettene blir lange og alle har gått i hi - da kommer de fram.”

“Englemos," sa sniff nonchalant. "Bare barnslig tøv." I hvert fall for alle som har sett i en stjernekikkert.”

“Anyway, solitary people interest me. There are so many different ways of being solitary.''I know just what you mean,' said X. 'I know exactly what you're going to say. Different kinds of solitude. Enforced solitude and voluntary solitude.''Quite,' said Viktoria. 'There's no need to go into it further. But when people understand one another without speaking, it can often leave them with very little to talk about, don't you think?”

“It is still summer, but the summer is no longer alive. It has come to a standstill; nothing withers, and fall is not ready to begin. There are no stars yet, just darkness.”

“The thing about God, she thought, is that He usually does help, but not until you've made an effort on your own.”

“It's funny about love', Sophia said. 'The more you love someone, the less he likes you back.''That's very true,' Grandmother observed. 'And so what do you do?''You go on loving,' said Sophia threateningly. 'You love harder and harder.”

“Gathering is peculiar, because you see nothing but what you're looking for. If you're picking raspberries, you see only what's red, and if you're looking for bones you see only the white. No matter where you go, the only thing you see is bones.”

“Sophia and Grandmother sat down by the shore to discuss the matter further. It was a pretty day, and the sea was running a long, windless swell. It was on days just like this--dog days--that boats went sailing off all by themselves. Large, alien objects made their way in from sea, certain things sank and others rose, milk soured, and dragonflies danced in desperation. Lizards were not afraid. When the moon came up, red spiders mated on uninhabited skerries, where the rock became an unbroken carpet of tiny, ecstatic spiders.”

“Small animals are a great problem. I wish God had never created small animals, or else that He had made them so they could talk, or else that He'd given them better faces. Space. Take moths. They fly at the lamp and burn themsleves, and then they fly right back again. It can't be instinct, because it isn't the way it works. They just don't understand, so they go right on doing it. Then they lie on their backs and all their legs quiver, and then they're dead. Did you get all that? Does it sound good?""Very good," Grandmother said.Sophia stood up and shouted, "Say this: say I hate everything that dies slow! Say I hate everything that won't let you help! Did you write that?”

“But Moominpappa wasn't listening, because just at that moment he had got the right grip on a big round boulder, and with a great thud it rolled down the slope. It made two very clear sparks and left a faint but enchanting smell of gunpowder behind. Now it was lying at the bottom, just where it should lie. It was wonderful to roll stones, first pushing with all one's might, then feeling them beginning to move just a little at first -- then a little more -- and then giving way and rolling into the sea with a colossal splash, leaving one standing there trembling with effort and pride.”

“My bag was as light as my happy-go-lucky heart.”

“Maybe my passion is nothing special, but at least it's mine.- An Eightieth Birthday”

“You can't ever be really free if you admire somebody too much.”

“I love borders. August is the border between summer and autumn; it is the most beautiful month I know.Twilight is the border between day and night, and the shore is the border between sea and land. The border is longing: when both have fallen in love but still haven't said anything. The border is to be on the way. It is the way that is the most important thing.”

“Why are you in such a rush?" Sophia asked, and her grandmother answered that it was a good idea to do things before you forgot that they had to be done.”

“It was a particularly good evening to begin a book.”

“She started thinking about all the euphemisms for death, all the anxious taboos that had always fascinated her. It was too bad you could never have an intelligent discussion on the subject. People were either too young or too old, or else they didn't have time.”

“A theatre is the most important sort of house in the world, because that's where people are shown what they could be if they wanted, and what they'd like to be if they dared to and what they really are”

“I'll have to calm down a bit. Or else I'll burst with happiness”

“There's no need to imagine that you're a wondrous beauty, because that's what you are.”

“It is simply this: do not tire, never lose interest, never grow indifferent—lose your invaluable curiosity and you let yourself die. It's as simple as that.”

“Det har alltid förvånat mig att de dramatiska höjdpunkterna i ens liv så ofta blir förstörda av vardagliga, närmast nedvärderande anmärkningar. Även om dessa inte ledas av illvilja kan man inte komma ifrån att de präglas av stor tanklöshet. Min åsikt är att man alltid bör göra det mesta av en hemsk situation. Dels med tanke på den lokalfärg jag tidigare talat om, dels därför att skräcken på något sätt blir förminskad om man förstorar det skräckinjagande. Dessutom är det roligt att göra intryck. Dessa tankar kan naturligtvis inte fattas av en Joxare. Men förståndets gåvor är ojämnt fördelade och vem är jag att jag skulle betvivla till och med en Joxares dunkla bestämmelse.”

“Är de arga, dedär drontarna? frågade jag försiktigt medan vi gick nedåt flodstranden.Jo, svarade Fredrikson. Men trampar på en bara av misstag. Gråter en vecka efteråt. Bekostar begravningen också.”

“I can dive", Sophia said. "Do you know what it feels like when you dive?"Of course I do," her grandmother said. "You let go of everything and get ready and just dive. You can feel the seaweed against your legs. It's brown, and the water's clear, lighter towards the top, with lots of bubbles. And you glide. You hold your breath and glide and turn and come up, let yourself rise and breathe out. And then you float. Just float."And all the time with your eyes open," Sophia said.Naturally. People don't dive with their eyes shut."Do you believe I can dive without me showing you?" the child asked.Yes, of course", Grandmother said.”

“Ajatella, jos ei koskaan voisi tulla iloiseksi tai pettyä, mietti isä veneen kiitäessä läpi myrskyn. Ei koskaan voisi pitää kenestäkään, eikä suuttua eikä antaa anteeksi. Ei koskaan voisi nukkua eikä palella, ei koskaan erehtyä, ei tuntea vatsakipua eikä toipua siitä, ei viettää syntymäpäivää, ei juoda olutta eikä tuntea pahaa omaatuntoa...”

“Hän seisoi hiljaa, aivan hiljaa, puristi posliinista kisssanpoikaa ja ajatteli: Voi, minun kaunis, ihana onnettomuuteni...”

“Täytyy pitää kiirettä, että ennättää elää, minulta on mennyt kovin paljon aikaa hukkaan!”

“Kampsu on aasi, hän ajatteli. Hömppä rouva, joka ei osaa ajatella muuta kuin teekakkuja ja tyynynpäällisiä. Hän ei ymmärrä edes mitään kukista. Ja kaikkein vähiten hän ymmärtää minua. Nyt hän istuu kotonaan ja luulee, etten minä ole koskaan kokenut mitään. Minähän koen jokapäivä maailmanlopun ja kuitenkin pukeudun ja riisuudun ja syön ja pesen asioita ja pidän teekutsuja aivan kuin ei mitään olisi tapahtunut!”

“One summer morning at sunrise a long time agoI met a little girl with a book under her arm.I asked her why she was out so early andshe answered that there were too many books andfar too little time. And there she was absolutely right.”

“I only want to live in peace, plant potatoes and dream!”

“The hemulen woke up slowly and recognised himself and wished he had been someone he didn't know.”

“All men have parties and are pals who never let each other down. A pal can say terrible things which are forgotten the next day. A pal never forgives, he just forgets, and a woman forgives but never forgets. That's how it is. That's why women aren't allowed to have parties. Being forgiven is very unpleasant.”

“On niitä jotka jäävät ja toisia jotka lähtevät, niin on ollut aina. Kukin saa valita itse, mutta on valittava ajoissa, eikä koskaan saa antaa periksi.”

“Om man är arg så är man arg, konstaterade lilla My och skalade sin potatis med tänderna. Man ska vara arg ibland, vartenda knytt har rätt att vara ilsket.”

“It looks rather ordinary," said the Snork. "Unless you consider that a top hat is always somewhat extraordinary, of course.”