“To live is to battle the demons
in the heart as well as the brain.
To write is to preside at
judgement day over one's self.”

—  Henrik Ibsen

At leve er — krig med trolde
i hjertets og hjernens hvælv.
At digte, — det er at holde
dommedag over sig selv.
Et vers (A Verse), inscribed on the volume Poems (1877)
Ibsen may have written this originally in German http://www.ibsen.net/index.gan?id=110602&subid=0 as a dedication to a female reader. It was published in German in Deutsche Rundschau in November 1886:
Leben, das heisst bekriegen
In Herz und Hirn die Gewalten;
Und dichten; über sich selber
Den Gerichtstag halten.

Original

At leve er — krig med trolde<br/>i hjertets og hjernens hvælv.<br/>At digte, — det er at holde<br/>dommedag over sig selv.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

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Henrik Ibsen 69
Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet 1828–1906

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