Although you may not stumble across a Martian in the garden, you might stumble across yourself. The day that happens, you'll probably also scream a little. And that'll be perfectly all right, because it's not every day you realize you're a living planet dweller on a little island in the universe.
Jostein GaarderIf an overgrown child draws something on a piece of paper, you can't ask the paper what the drawing is supposed to represent.
Jostein GaarderWhen we die, as when the scenes have been fixed on to celluloid and the scenery is pulled down and burnt โ we are phantoms in the memories of our descendants. Then we are ghosts, my dear, then we are myths. But still we are together. We are the past together, we are a distant past. Beneath the dome of the mysterious stars, I still hear your voice.
Jostein GaarderSocrates himself said, 'One thing only I know, and this is that I know nothing.' Remember this statement, because it is an admission that is rare, even among philosophers. Moreover, it can be so dangerous to say in public that it can cost you your life. The most subversive people are those who ask questions. Giving answers is not nearly as threatening. Any one question can be more explosive than a thousand answers.
Jostein GaarderActing responsibly is not a matter of strengthening our reason but of deepening our feelings for the welfare of others.
Jostein Gaarder