A thousand words will not leave so deep an impression as one deed.
Meaning of the quote
A thousand words cannot make as strong an impact as a single action. This means that it's more powerful to show someone something through your behavior, rather than just telling them a lot of words. Actions speak louder than words, so if you want to make a real difference, you should focus on doing something meaningful instead of just talking about it.
About Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen was a renowned Norwegian playwright and theatre director who is considered the father of modern drama. He was a pioneer of realism and one of the most influential playwrights of the 19th century, known for his thought-provoking works like A Doll’s House, Ghosts, and The Wild Duck. Ibsen’s plays often examined the realities behind societal facades, challenging the conventions of his time.
More quotes from Henrik Ibsen
Look into any man’s heart you please, and you will always find, in every one, at least one black spot which he has to keep concealed.
Norwegian playwright and theatre director (1828-1906)
Marriage! Nothing else demands so much of a man.
Norwegian playwright and theatre director (1828-1906)
I’m afraid for all those who’ll have the bread snatched from their mouths by these machines. What business has science and capitalism got, bringing all these new inventions into the works, before society has produced a generation educated up to using them!
Norwegian playwright and theatre director (1828-1906)
A community is like a ship; everyone ought to be prepared to take the helm.
Norwegian playwright and theatre director (1828-1906)
A forest bird never wants a cage.
Norwegian playwright and theatre director (1828-1906)
One of the qualities of liberty is that, as long as it is being striven after, it goes on expanding. Therefore, the man who stands in the midst of the struggle and says, “I have it,” merely shows by doing so that he has just lost it.
Norwegian playwright and theatre director (1828-1906)
The pillars of truth and the pillars of freedom – they are the pillars of society.
Norwegian playwright and theatre director (1828-1906)
These heroes of finance are like beads on a string; when one slips off, all the rest follow.
Norwegian playwright and theatre director (1828-1906)
Really to sin you have to be serious about it.
Norwegian playwright and theatre director (1828-1906)
The majority is always wrong; the minority is rarely right.
Norwegian playwright and theatre director (1828-1906)
Castles in the air – they are so easy to take refuge in. And so easy to build too.
Norwegian playwright and theatre director (1828-1906)
The spectacles of experience; through them you will see clearly a second time.
Norwegian playwright and theatre director (1828-1906)
It is inexcusable for scientists to torture animals; let them make their experiments on journalists and politicians.
Norwegian playwright and theatre director (1828-1906)
You should never have your best trousers on when you go out to fight for freedom and truth.
Norwegian playwright and theatre director (1828-1906)
A thousand words will not leave so deep an impression as one deed.
Norwegian playwright and theatre director (1828-1906)
A man should never put on his best trousers when he goes out to battle for freedom and truth.
Norwegian playwright and theatre director (1828-1906)
People who don’t know how to keep themselves healthy ought to have the decency to get themselves buried, and not waste time about it.
Norwegian playwright and theatre director (1828-1906)
Do not use that foreign word “ideals.” We have that excellent native word “lies.”
Norwegian playwright and theatre director (1828-1906)
Home life ceases to be free and beautiful as soon as it is founded on borrowing and debt.
Norwegian playwright and theatre director (1828-1906)
Your home is regarded as a model home, your life as a model life. But all this splendor, and you along with it… it’s just as though it were built upon a shifting quagmire. A moment may come, a word can be spoken, and both you and all this splendor will collapse.
Norwegian playwright and theatre director (1828-1906)
The devil is compromise.
Norwegian playwright and theatre director (1828-1906)
The man whom God wills to slay in the struggle of life – he first individualizes.
Norwegian playwright and theatre director (1828-1906)
Don’t use that foreign word “ideals.” We have that excellent native word “lies.”
Norwegian playwright and theatre director (1828-1906)
The worst enemy of truth and freedom in our society is the compact majority.
Norwegian playwright and theatre director (1828-1906)
The spirit of truth and the spirit of freedom – these are the pillars of society.
Norwegian playwright and theatre director (1828-1906)
One should never put on one’s best trousers to go out to battle for freedom and truth.
Norwegian playwright and theatre director (1828-1906)
Do you know what we are those of us who count as pillars of society? We are society’s tools, neither more nor less.
Norwegian playwright and theatre director (1828-1906)
The strongest man in the world is he who stands most alone.
Norwegian playwright and theatre director (1828-1906)
What business has science and capitalism got, bringing all these new inventions into the works, before society has produced a generation educated up to using them!
Norwegian playwright and theatre director (1828-1906)
Never wear your best trousers when you go out to fight for freedom and truth.
Norwegian playwright and theatre director (1828-1906)
A minority may be right, and a majority is always wrong.
Norwegian playwright and theatre director (1828-1906)