Piet Hein Quotes

Living is
a thing you do
now or never — which do you?

Art is solving problems that cannot be formulated before they have been solved. The shaping of the question is part of the answer.

if you possess more than just eight things then y o u are possessed by t h e m

En blomst ved min elskedes seng har jeg sat, // en rose, der rødmende stod der i nat. // Først faldt der er et blad og så to os og fler, // nu tror den vist ikke på knopskydning mer.

A bit beyond perception's reach
I sometimes believe I see
that life is two locked boxes
each containing the other’s key.

PRESCRIPTION

A bit
of virtue
will never
hurt you.

THE FIRST PRINCIPLE OF GASTRONOMY

There's a rule for proper doses
in the dinner-eaters lore:
one should stop the filling process
while one still has room for more.

And if someone at the table
had reminded me before -
Hallelujah! I'd be able
to absorb a little more.

A WORD TO THE WISE

Let the world pass in its time-ridden race;
never get caught in its snare.
Remember, the only acceptable case
for being in any particular place
is having no business there.

THE WISDOM OF THE SPHERES

How instructive
is a star!
It can teach us
from afar
just how small
each other are.

Foes of what's cooking see no worth behind it. Those that are looking for nothing — will find it.

As Eternity has reckoned
There's a lifetime in a second

Hint And Suggestion : Admonitory grook addressed to youth

The human spirit sublimates
the impulses it thwarts;
a healthy sex life mitigates
the lust for other sports.

Hvis man regner med belønning for sin godhed, er det ikke godhed, men beregning.

Problems worthy of attack prove their worth by hitting back.

Lovers meander in prose and rhyme,
trying to say-
for the thousandth time-
what's easier done than said.