Fridtjof Nansen Quotations

It is better to go skiing and think of God, than go to church and think of sport.

I demolish my bridges behind me - then there is no choice but forward.

The difficult is what takes a little time; the impossible is what takes a little longer.

Never stop because you are afraid - you are never so likely to be wrong.

Alas! Alas! Life is full of disappointments; as one reaches one ridge there is always another and a higher one beyond which blocks the view.

Never keep a line of retreat: it is a wretched invention.

Is it not in the struggle to obtain knowledge that happiness exists? I am very ignorant, consequently the conditions of happiness are mine.

The whole plan of extermination was nothing less than a cold blooded, calculated political measure, having for its object the annihilation of a superior element in the population, which might prove troublesome, and to this must be added the motive of greed.

Man wants to know, and when he ceases to do so, he is no longer a man.

War will cease when men refuse to fight.

You are one with your skis and nature. This is something that develops not only the body but the soul as well, and it has a deeper meaning for a people than most of us perceive.

Love is life's snow. It falls deepest and softest into the gashes left by the fight - whiter and purer than snow itself.

If nations could overcome the mutual fear and distrust whose sombre shadow is now thrown over the world, and could meet with confidence and good will to settle their possible differences, they would easily be able to establish a lasting peace.

The history of the human race is a continual struggle from darkness into light. It is, therefore, to no purpose to discuss the use of knowledge; man wants to know, and when he ceases to do so, is no longer a man.

Happiness is the struggle towards a summit and, when it is attained, it is happiness to glimpse new summits on the other side.

Never stop because you are afraid - you are never so likely to be wrong. Never keep a line of retreat: it is a wretched invention. The difficult is what takes a little time; the impossible is what takes a little longer.

Have you not succeeded? Continue! Have you succeeded? Continue!

The first great thing is to find yourself and for that you need solitude and contemplation - at least sometimes. I can tell you deliverance will not come from the rushing noisy centers of civilization. It will come from the lonely places.