SUBLIME FINLAND
"Finland alone - in danger of death, superb, sublime Finland! -
shows what free men can do."
Winston Churchill Broadcast speech 1940
"The climate is severe; there is scarcely any spring or autumn, but there are nine months of winter in the year... The people ... live to a good old age when they do not undermine their constitutions by the abuse of strong drink..."
Voltaire Histoire de Charles XII (description of Sweden and Finland)
1731
"They try to cultivate the mind a little there, but bears and wolves come so close in winter that all thought is of necessity concentrated on how to attain a tolerable physical existence."
Madame de Staël
Dix années d´exil
1812
"Serious, reserved and fond of a retired life."
The Oxford Encyclopedia, 1828
"Nature´s unhappy stepson..."
Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin
(in a poem)
1833
"The Finns also have a bent for drink, even though there is no wine here whatsoever, except for illicit tavern keeping, which is harshly suppressed. But, all the way to St. Petersburg, the Finn will drink himself into forgetfulness, lose his money, horse, bridle, and return home poorer than a church rat."
Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin
Life´s Little Things
(Saltykov-Shchedrin visited Finland in 1886)
"The Finn is the most watery person in Europe... Here people take baths that last three or four hours and steep their bodies in water right down to their most secret selves."
Angel Ganivet
Cartas finlandesas
1896-97
"Finland is not the home of barbarians, as some folk imagine, neither do polar bears walk continually about the streets..."
Mrs Alec Tweedie
Through Finland in Carts
1897
"The Finns are the most gifted of all people"
Sigrid Undset
(1882-1949)
in conversation
"Countries are like people: by their very existence they exalt or deflate the opinions one would like to have of oneself. When I return from Finland, I feel younger and livelier; I make great plans, I like many things in the world and, what is more, I like myself a little better."
Georges Duhamel
Chant du Nord
1929
"A nation which has fought so valiantly for its independence deserves respect.
Joseph Stalin, 1879-1953
Virtual Finland
shows what free men can do."
Winston Churchill Broadcast speech 1940
"The climate is severe; there is scarcely any spring or autumn, but there are nine months of winter in the year... The people ... live to a good old age when they do not undermine their constitutions by the abuse of strong drink..."
Voltaire Histoire de Charles XII (description of Sweden and Finland)
1731
"They try to cultivate the mind a little there, but bears and wolves come so close in winter that all thought is of necessity concentrated on how to attain a tolerable physical existence."
Madame de Staël
Dix années d´exil
1812
"Serious, reserved and fond of a retired life."
The Oxford Encyclopedia, 1828
"Nature´s unhappy stepson..."
Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin
(in a poem)
1833
"The Finns also have a bent for drink, even though there is no wine here whatsoever, except for illicit tavern keeping, which is harshly suppressed. But, all the way to St. Petersburg, the Finn will drink himself into forgetfulness, lose his money, horse, bridle, and return home poorer than a church rat."
Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin
Life´s Little Things
(Saltykov-Shchedrin visited Finland in 1886)
"The Finn is the most watery person in Europe... Here people take baths that last three or four hours and steep their bodies in water right down to their most secret selves."
Angel Ganivet
Cartas finlandesas
1896-97
"Finland is not the home of barbarians, as some folk imagine, neither do polar bears walk continually about the streets..."
Mrs Alec Tweedie
Through Finland in Carts
1897
"The Finns are the most gifted of all people"
Sigrid Undset
(1882-1949)
in conversation
"Countries are like people: by their very existence they exalt or deflate the opinions one would like to have of oneself. When I return from Finland, I feel younger and livelier; I make great plans, I like many things in the world and, what is more, I like myself a little better."
Georges Duhamel
Chant du Nord
1929
"A nation which has fought so valiantly for its independence deserves respect.
Joseph Stalin, 1879-1953
Virtual Finland