Dag Hammarskjöld Quotes

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.

In a dream I walked with God through the deep places of creation; past walls that receded and gates that opened through hall after hall of silence, darkness and refreshment — the dwelling place of souls acquainted with light and warmth — until, around me, was an infinity into which we all flowed together and lived anew, like the rings made by raindrops falling upon wide expanses of calm dark waters.

The 'mystical experience'. Always here and now - in that freedom which is one with distance in that stillness which is born of silence. But - this is a freedom in the midst of action, a stillness in the midst of other human beings. The mystery is a constant reality to him who, in this world, is free from self-concern, a reality that grows peaceful and mature before the receptive attention of assent.

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

You cannot play with the animal in you without becoming wholly animal, play with falsehood without forfeiting your right to truth, play with cruelty without losing your sensitivity of mind. He who wants to keep his garden tidy does not reserve a plot for weeds

The UN was not created to take mankind to heaven, but to save humanity from hell.

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

For all that has been — Thanks. For all that shall be — Yes.

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

He who wants to keep his garden tidy doesn’t reserve a plot for weeds.

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

Maturity: among other things, the unclouded happiness of the child at play, who takes it for granted that he is at one with his play-mates.

A man of firm convictions does not ask, and does not receive, understanding from those with whom he comes into conflict. … A mature man is his own judge. In the end, his only firm support is being faithful to his own convictions. The advice of others may be welcome and valuable, but it does not free him from responsibility. Therefore, he may become very lonely.

The big, shoe-thumping fellow continues as a dark thunderhead to threaten all unrepentant non-Communists with hail and thunder.

Acts of violence — Whether on a large or a small scale, the bitter paradox: the meaningfulness of death — and the meaninglessness of killing.