Dag Hammarskjöld

I don’t know Who—or what—put the question, I don’t know when it was put. I don’t even remember answering. But at some moment I did answer Yes to Someone—or Something—and from that hour I was certain that existence is meaningful and that, therefore, my life, in self-surrender, had a goal.

To reach perfection, we must all pass, one by one, through the death of self-effacement.

Time goes by: reputation increases, ability declines.

Humility is just as much the opposite of self- abasement as it is of self-exaltation.

Forgiveness is the answer to the child’s dream of a miracle by which what is broken is made whole again, what is soiled is again made clean.

Do not seek death. Death will find you. But seek the road which makes death a fulfillment.

In our era, the road to holiness necessarily passes through the world of action.

It is easy to be nice, even to an enemy - from lack of character.

I am the vessel. The draft is God's. And God is the thirsty one.

It is more noble to give yourself completely to one individual than to labor diligently for the salvation of the masses.

You are... the lens in the beam. You can only receive, give, and possess the light as the lens does.

If you seek yourself...you rob the lens of its transparency....

It was when Lucifer first congratulated himself upon his angelic behavior that he became the tool of evil.

Never look down to test the ground before taking your next step; only he who keeps his eye fixed on the far horizon will find the right road.

You are the lens in the beam. You can only receive, give, and possess the light as the lens does. If you seek yourself, you rob the lens of its transparency. You will know life and be acknowledged by it according to your degree of transparency, your capacity, that is, to vanish as an end, and remain purely as a means.

A successful lie is doubly a lie; an error which has to be corrected is a heavier burden than the truth.

Do not look back. And do not dream about the future, either. It will neither give you back the past, nor satisfy your other daydreams. Your duty, your reward- your destiny-are here and now.

For all that has been, thanks. For all that will be, yes.

The only kind of dignity which is genuine is that which is not diminished by the indifference of others.

Pray that your loneliness may spur you into finding something to live for, great enough to die for.

Life only demands from you the strength you possess. Only one feat is possible - not to have run away.

‘Freedom from fear’ could be said to sum up the whole philosophy of human rights.

Your cravings as a human animal do not become a prayer just because it is God whom you ask to attend to them.

I have only my own burden to bear.

Never measure the height of a mountain, until you have reached the top. Then you will see how low it was.

The more you listen to the voice within you, the better you will hear what is sounding outside.

Never for the sake of peace and quiet deny your own experience or convictions.

We are not permitted to choose the frame of our destiny, but what we put into it is ours.

The longest journey Is the journey inwards Of him who has chosen his destiny.

Dag Hammarskjöld

Poems

Quotes

Comments (0)