Home > Work > The Man Who Spoke Snakish
1 " He hardly ate anything, and only stayed on his feet thanks to his lunacy. But that was a strong stick to lean on. He was not dying anytime soon. "
― Andrus Kivirähk , The Man Who Spoke Snakish
2 " So great is the sea and so tiny are we. "
3 " You're my dream and I plan to sleep forever. "
4 " Adders never interfered in other beings’ affairs, as long as it didn’t affect them directly. In their view, everyone has the right to live their lives just as foolishly as they like. "
5 " But that was how it had to go, for the death of a rotten tree is always rapid: one violent shake and over it goes. Its broad canopy, which for many years rose up in its place in the forest, has suddenly vanished. For a while there is a space in the forest cover, but soon the space is filled by new growth, as if nothing had happened. "
6 " Nu, jaren later, zie ik zelf hoe idioot verlegen ik was. Geen wonder dat verlegen wezens zoals wij uitsterven. Wij waren nog slechts schaduwen, die voor zonsondergang nog even lang werden om daarna helemaal te verdwijnen. Ik ben ook verdwenen. Niemand weet dat ik nog leef. "
7 " Life is like that; all things come to an end. There are some trees where owls have nested for hundreds of years, and yet at some point they leave it empty, don’t return there. "
8 " Unpleasant things are like rain: sometimes they visit us, but there’s no point in worrying about them while the sun shines. And anyway, you can take shelter from the rain, and many things that seem nasty from far away are not so terrible at all seen close up. "
9 " One person believes in sprites and visits the sacred grove, and another believes in Jesus and goes to the church. It’s just a matter of fashion. There’s no use in getting involved with just one god; they’re more like brooches or pearls, just for decoration. For hanging around your neck, or for playing with. "
10 " New things have to be tried. How do you know otherwise if something’s good if you don’t try it? "
11 " although we’re heading in the same direction, we will never meet again. So great is the sea and so tiny are we. "
12 " You might almost think that the forest is itself to blame for the people leaving its midst, because it behaves like a conqueror, spreading out in the footsteps of its former master. "
13 " People always want to leave a little possibility; no one can be satisfied with inevitability. "
14 " If that's the word you like, then why not use it. First or last, there's no difference. "
15 " Je mis plusieurs mois à ma remettre. Je n'avais tout simplement pas envie de guérir ; c'était si bon de rester dans cet état d'inconscience fébrile, sans penser, sans me souvenir. Les rêves venaient et s'en allaient, et lorsqu'il y avait en eux quelque chose de triste ou d'effrayant, presque aussitôt cela me sortait de l'esprit et s'effaçait devant de nouveaux songes. J'aimais garder les yeux fermés tandis que des visions multicolores sans nom ni forme précise me nageaient par la tête dans une brume étincelante, et c'était comme si elles m'avertissaient de ne pas m'éveiller. "
16 " One can show off one’s courage, but when it finally turns out that the danger is not real danger, you can laugh happily and say, “I said there’s nothing terrible here; you’ll even like it here. Haven’t we shown you interesting things? "
