Growth Of The Soil Quotes
"The long, long road over the moors and up into the forest—who trod it into being first of all? Man, a human being, the first that came here."
"A strong, coarse fellow, with a red iron beard, and little scars on face and hands; sites of old wounds—were they gained in toil or fight?"
"So through the day, noting time by the sun; night falls, and he throws himself down on the heather, resting on one arm."
"A few hours’ rest, and he is on the move again: 'Eyah, well. …'—moving northward again, noting time by the sun."
"He moves along the western side of a valley; wooded ground, with leafy trees among the spruce and pine, and grass beneath."
"A white grouse sitting close upon its nest starts up at his feet with an angry hiss, and he nods again: feathered game and fur—a good spot this."
"He nods, to say that he has found himself a place to stay and live: ay, he will stay here and live."
"The worst of his task had been to find the place; this no-man’s place, but his. Now, there was work to fill his days."
"A born carrier of loads, a lumbering barge of a man in the forest—oh, as if he loved his calling, tramping long roads and carrying heavy burdens."
"Then came the first stranger passing, a nomad Lapp; at sight of the goats, he knew that this was a man who had come to stay, and spoke to him."
"You’ve not changed much," said Inger, looking at her husband.
"This is your papa, Leopoldine; come and shake hands nicely."
She wore her pattens," said Isak. "And for going to church and visiting and the like, why, rough hide was good enough for her.
The only thing," he said, "it's a heavy long way from school: I'll have to get the lads to stay down in the village.
"We’ll fix it up so that you get more later on."
"You’ve not enough. How should I know what sheep, and what two lambs, you’re trying to get out of me now?"
"And when you did that writing on the paper—what does it feel like?"
"You’ve all you could wish for every sort, and a heavenly host of sheep and goats and all in your own shed, and you’ve not enough."
"Why, Eleseus, he gives a hand with this, and little Sivert helps with that," said Isak proudly.
"A little while after she heard herself whispering: 'Oh, you... you’re just the same—the same as ever!'"
"I’ve brought a paper of coffee too," she said. "But you can’t have any this evening, for it’s not roasted yet."
"There were small figures moving, over by the house; it was Eleseus and Sivert, keeping watch."
"That Geissler," he says, "you remember him? He came up a little while back."
"There, now you can start afresh. But I’d make the horses red if I were you, and do the goats with blue. Never seen a blue horse, have you?"
"I want to have it all green by this time tomorrow," he said.
"The ground is simply parched. Come along with me, Sivert."
"It’s a matter that concerns you as well, you know. There’ll be a lot of bother, of course; a lot of men about the place, and a bit rowdy at times, perhaps."
"The powers above guided all things, no doubt, but the meadows were turning grey."
"She overdid things finely, and worked harder than she ought."
"I do it for conscience’ sake," she answered.
"Life was all heavy-like and stern that winter; he sought for loneliness, for a hiding-place."
"All is quiet around him, and God’s blessing on this quiet and thoughtfulness, for it is nothing but good!"
"He sat down in the snow to rest a bit, not to seem worn out when he came home."
"He was nearing home; in the fine moonlight he could see Sellanraa there on the hillside, neat and clear of the forest."
"There, he knows now, is a deep, bare patch on his ground; it is full of ore; there is always a metallic film over every puddle of water there—and now he will dig it out."
"He felt strange—took one short, uncertain step forward, and walked straight into a look, a great look, a pair of eyes."
"Possibly the Holy Ghost? If so, what was it standing there for anyway, in the midst of nowhere; two eyes, a look, and nothing more?"
"He took a step forward again, but it was only a little one, and, to tell the truth, he stepped back again immediately."
"Inger herself, you see, had grown somewhat lighter of heart and kindlier of late, whatever the cause."
"Inger is again the first to brighten up; she had been more cheerful now for a long time."
But Inger saw through it also, and said: "Oh, I know you don’t want to frighten me. But you must take Sivert with you all the same."
"Altogether, the days were longer and lighter now; Easter was past, Isak had hauled up all his timber, everything looked bright, human beings could breathe again after another winter gone."
"He carried the servant-girl’s box on his back as he strode home; but for all that, he was proud and full of weighty secrets as he had been the day he came home with that gold ring."
"But, naturally, Eleseus had to take his share of the work in building the house; and tired and miserable it made him, all unused as he was to bodily fatigue of any kind."
"The brothers teased each other as much as ever."
"Young hearts have their unfathomable depths, and after what had happened, likely enough he did not care about staying on with Barbro as a neighbour."
And now, that he may be a kind and fatherly lord and ruler to them all, to encourage them, he says: "There, I’ll just do this bit, and you can spread it tomorrow."
"Oline, no doubt, thought this ill-timed jesting. Oh, she had herself been cheated of her due; for all that she had managed to squeeze out something like real tears over old Sivert’s grave."
"Strong only as a scandalmonger, as one whose tongue was to be feared."
"Her powers were not less than those of other politicians; she acted for herself and those belonging to her."
"A pittance left to her now, at the eleventh hour? Ay, a single golden gleam."
"Old Sivert’s accounts had appeared more or less in order."
"Oline—maybe old Sivert had for a moment thought of her as young, pretty, and rosy-cheeked."
"Justice would have overtaken her with its late reward."
"Isak was standing ready to go out to his fields."
"Barbro felt herself no more at home there now than any other serving-maid."
"She had toiled all her life, had borne children, and taught them her own few arts."
"Everything gets found out, seems to me."
"There’s a broad path down it, where Aronsen could walk o’ Sundays and smoke his pipe."
"The settlement was their world; work, seasons, crops were the adventures of their life."
"It irks her to think of the others, young women, ay—but she will try if she can’t compete with them all the same."
"We women are an unfortunate and oppressed moiety of humanity."
"The fear of the Lord and contentment therewith are a precious gain."
"It is the men who make the laws, and we women have not a word to say in the matter."
"The child is at least killed in kindness."
"Society despises the unmarried woman who bears a child."
"A woman cannot tell one man from another; not always - not often."
"Modern practice is growing more and more disposed to lay more stress on reforming the criminal than on punishing the crime."
"The law of the present day was more humane, seeking to adjust itself according to the degree of criminal intent and purpose displayed in each case."
"In cases of doubt, the scale should be allowed to turn in favour of the accused."
"None the less, I’m glad it was no worse."
"You understood, of course, why I had to say all that about you yesterday?"
"Remember what you’ve just been through, and what you’ve come from."
"Heaven knows if, after all, it had not been Geissler himself that had led the whole proceedings and gained the result he wished."
"I’ve been thinking overmuch of the money, surely, when he took on that post."
"What about a hotel place where folk can get coffee?"
"You don’t seem like remembering how I saved your life last winter!"
"I can live without the cow from this day forth, and never a word I’ll say nor breathe of it again."
"It’s a marvel how a beast can get so fat."
"You can leave my trunk here till I come back."
"Eleseus—going where? Only one place to go; he turns back, going back home again."
"’Tis a pity about Eleseus, so changed he is and all."
"Eleseus manages his business like a fool."
"At first, his mother had been a faithful spokesman for him every way."
"There’s the farm at Storborg, with potatoes and corn and hay enough for the place itself, but all provisions else must come from Sellanraa."
"Poor Eleseus, all set on end and frittered away."
"Something unfortunate, ill-fated about this young man, as if something were rotting him from within."
"The pride of the family, he ventures up a little."
"Eleseus ventures forward; '’Tis only me,' he says."
"The caravan turns into the yard at Sellanraa and sets down its load."
"Isak at his sowing; a stump of a man, a barge of a man to look at, nothing more."
"A tiller of the ground, body and soul; a worker on the land without respite."