“Genuine gold does not exist, children, he said. Gold is by its nature not genuine.”
Brekkukotsannáll (The Fish Can Sing) (1957)
Help us to complete the source, original and additional information
Halldór Laxness 216
Icelandic author 1902–1998Related quotes

Goldenrod; reported in Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations (1922), p. 326.

“The dissident does not operate in the realm of genuine power at all. He is not seeking power.”
Living in Truth (1986), An Anatomy of Reticence
Context: The dissident does not operate in the realm of genuine power at all. He is not seeking power. He has no desire for office and does not gather votes. He does not attempt to charm the public, he offers nothing and promises nothing. He can offer, if anything, only his own skin — and he offers it solely because he has no other way of affirming the truth he stands for. His actions simply articulate his dignity as a citizen, regardless of the cost.

BBC Radio Debate on the Existence of God, Russell vs. Copleston (1948)
1940s

Source: The Limits of Evolution, and Other Essays, Illustrating the Metaphysical Theory of Personal Ideaalism (1905), Modern Science and Pantheism, p.79-80

“For gold in phisike is a cordial;
Therefore he loved gold in special.”
General Prologue, l. 445
The Canterbury Tales

“Gold is good in its place; but living, brave, and patriotic men are better than gold.”
1860s, On Democratic Government (1864)
Context: But the election, along with its incidental and undesirable strife, has done good, too. It has demonstrated that a people's government can sustain a national election in the midst of a great civil war. Until now, it has not been known to the world that this was a possibility. It shows, also, how sound and strong we still are. It shows that even among the candidates of the same party, he who is most devoted to the Union and most opposed to treason can receive most of the people's votes. It shows, also, to the extent yet known, that we have more men now than we had when the war began. Gold is good in its place; but living, brave, and patriotic men are better than gold.

“Gold! Gold! Gold! Gold!
Bright and yellow, hard and cold.”
Her Moral; reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).
20th century

Source: "Quotes", Notebooks and Lectures on the Bible and Other Religious Texts (2003), p. 149