Niels Bohr Quotes

A priestess of Avalon does not lie. But I am cast out of Avalon, and for this, and unless it is all to be for nothing, I must lie, and lie well and quickly

I am everything and I am nothing. I am just kidding; I am not everything and nothing. That would be ridiculous. I am just everything.

I am the best-natured creature in the world, and yet I have already killed three, and of these three two were priests.

But he had hardly felt the absurdity of those things, on the one hand, and the necessity of those others, on the other, (for it is rare that the feeling of absurdity is not followed by the feeling of necessity), when he felt the absurdity of those things of which he had just felt the necessity (for it is rare that the feeling of necessity is not followed by the feeling of absurdity.)

I am a living contradiction.

We are proud of our ridiculousness. That's what made our Surrealism. Proud and ashamed of everything at the same time. I think that's my definition of Belgium.

There's a thing that if you - somebody in faith is always troubled by doubt, and somebody by doubt is always wanted by faith. So it's a kind of paradox.

there is enough treachery, hatred violence absurdity in the average human being to supply any given army on any given day and the best at murder are those who preach against it and the best at hate are those who preach love and the best at war finally are those who preach peace

The absurd is only too necessary on earth. The world stands on absurdities.

Duty is what no-one else will do at the moment.

Nothing is so conformable to reason as to disavow reason.

It's the sense of duty that keeps you going sometimes when things get very, very rough. Somebody's got to do it. And if you don't, who will?

If a sense of duty tortures a man, it also enables him to achieve prodigies.

I write plays because dialogue is the most respectable way of contradicting myself.

We are double-edged blades, and every time we whet our virtue the return stroke strops our vice.

The fact would seem to be, if in my situation one may speak of facts, not only that I shall have to speak of things of which I cannot speak, but also, which is even more interesting, but also that I, which is if possible even more interesting, that I shall have to, I forget, no matter. And at the same time I am obliged to speak. I shall never be silent. Never.

God, what a ghastly enterprise to be in, though-and what an odd way to achieve success. I'm an exhibitionist who wants to hide, but is unsuccessful at hiding; therefore, somehow I succeed.

The dogma is that that dogma is a mistake.

It is thy duty often times to do what thou wouldst not; thy duty too, to leave undone that thou wouldst do.

And that, in a way, was the burden of being a philosopher: one knew what one had to do, but it was so often the opposite of what one really wanted to do.

Should; shouldn't; ought; oughtn't—the enemies of contentment.

If a man cannot tell what he wants to do, then he must find out what he ought to do. If desire has become complicated, then hold fast to duty.

What I love about writing is the contradictions we all embody as human beings.

The higher I get the lower I sink.

What I am telling you, before you begin my story, is this -- two things: I crave truth. And I lie.