--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Item, I've read that there's not a single…" description: "\"“Item, I've read that there's not a single virgin to be found in your country,\" said the statesman. \"Where might you have read this?\" asked the Profess..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f70/halld-r-laxness-6935_chastity_item-i-ve-read-that-there-s-not-a-single_1453279.png" --- # Item, I've read that there's not a single virgin to be… ![“Item, I've read that there's not a single virgin to be found in your country," said the statesman. "Where might you have read this?" asked the Professor Antiquitatum. "The good auctor Blefken says this." "I wonder if the good auctor might not have misread his sources," said Arnaeus. "The best…” quote by Halldór Laxness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f70/halld-r-laxness-6935_chastity_item-i-ve-read-that-there-s-not-a-single_1453279.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f70/halld-r-laxness-6935_chastity_item-i-ve-read-that-there-s-not-a-single_1453279.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f70/halld-r-laxness-6935_chastity_item-i-ve-read-that-there-s-not-a-single_1453279.png) > ““Item, I've read that there's not a single virgin to be found in your country," said the statesman. "Where might you have read this?" asked the Professor Antiquitatum. "The good auctor Blefken says this." "I wonder if the good auctor might not have misread his sources," said Arnaeus. "The best auctores tell us that Icelandic girls remain chaste virgins up until they've had their seventh child, Your Benevolence.”” [Halldór Laxness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/halld-r-laxness/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A scholar questions a claim about virginity in Iceland, suggesting the source may be misinterpreted **In simple terms:** A professor doubts a statement about Icelandic women's chastity Key Takeaway Question sources and seek evidence Themes skepticism culture gender Mood curious reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - academic debate - literary critique - cultural studies - gender studies Key Concepts critical analysis historical context Questions to Reflect On - What biases influence historical claims about sexuality? - How do we verify cultural assertions? A Different Perspective The anecdote may reflect stereotypes rather than factual truth ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Chaste Virgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chaste-virgins-5231737/) [Chastity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chastity/) [Single Virgin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/single-virgin-2124188/) [Virgin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virgin/) [Virgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virgins/) [Virgins Ve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virgins-ve-2849593/) ## Related quotes > [“Do you know Camille Desmoulins?” he asked. “Have you seen him? He’s one of these law-school boys. Never used anything more dangerous than a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/do-you-know-camille-desmoulins-he-asked-have-you-seen-him-he-s-one-of/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“That’s why I’m single at twenty-five and a virgin. Mom says I set my standards too high. I disagree. My only prerequisite is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adele-hart/that-s-why-i-m-single-at-twenty-five-and-a-virgin-mom-says-i-set-my/) [Adele Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adele-hart/) > [BEING SINGLE AND BEING VIRGIN BOTH ARE NOT CRIME SO WHY PEOPLE ASK ME STILL YOU ARE SINGLE AND STILL VIRGIN.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/izhaar-shaikh-mz/being-single-and-being-virgin-both-are-not-crime-so-why-people-ask-me/) [Izhaar Shaikh MZ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/izhaar-shaikh-mz/) > [“It is preferable to have a virgin mind than a virgin body. Each is good if each be possible; if it be not possible,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-ambrose/it-is-preferable-to-have-a-virgin-mind-than-a-virgin-body-each-is/) [St. Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-ambrose/) > [I call not that virginity a virtue, which resideth only in the bodies integrity; much less if it be with a purpose of perpetually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/i-call-not-that-virginity-a-virtue-which-resideth-only-in-the-bodies/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) > [Chastity is the heart of virginity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olalekan-a-adebumiti/chastity-is-the-heart-of-virginity/) [Olalekan A Adebumiti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olalekan-a-adebumiti/) > [“I’ve always found the idea of 'saving' your virginity intriguing: it’s not as if we’re packing our Saran-wrapped hymens away in the freezer, after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-valenti/i-ve-always-found-the-idea-of-saving-your-virginity-intriguing-it-s/) [Jessica Valenti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-valenti/) > [I call not that virginity a virtue, which resideth onely in the bodies integrity; much less if it be with a purpose of perpetually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/i-call-not-that-virginity-a-virtue-which-resideth-onely-in-the-bodies/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) > [The price the Virgin demanded was purity, and the way the educators of Catholic children have interpreted this for nearly two thousand years is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-warner/the-price-the-virgin-demanded-was-purity-and-the-way-the-educators-of/) [Marina Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-warner/) > [Tis chastity, my brother, chastity; She that has that is clad in complete steel, And, like a quiver'd nymph with arrows keen, May trace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/tis-chastity-my-brother-chastity-she-that-has-that-is-clad-in/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [The spring without a leaf to toss, bare and bright like a virgin fierce in her chastity, scornful in her purity, was laid out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/the-spring-without-a-leaf-to-toss-bare-and-bright-like-a-virgin/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [I had met a lady there by the name of Laura Ziffren.She heard that I got signed to Virgin and reached out to my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quindon-tarver/i-had-met-a-lady-there-by-the-name-of-laura-ziffren-she-heard-that-i/) [Quindon Tarver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quindon-tarver/) > [I'm one, too," he said. "What?" He spit a wad of blood and mucus into the dirt. "A virgin." What a shock. "What makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/i-m-one-too-he-said-what-he-spit-a-wad-of-blood-and-mucus-into-the/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [There is a word we haven't used yet: virginity... To make a photograph, the plate must be virgin, but your eye as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edouard-boubat/there-is-a-word-we-haven-t-used-yet-virginity-to-make-a-photograph/) [Edouard Boubat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edouard-boubat/) > [I used to be a virgin, but I gave it up because there was no money in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsha-warfield/i-used-to-be-a-virgin-but-i-gave-it-up-because-there-was-no-money-in/) [Marsha Warfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsha-warfield/) ## More by Halldór Laxness > [Where the glacier meets the sky, the land ceases to be earthly, and the earth becomes one with the heavens; no sorrows live there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/halld-r-laxness/where-the-glacier-meets-the-sky-the-land-ceases-to-be-earthly-and-the/) [Halldór Laxness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/halld-r-laxness/) > [“A new generation forgets the specters that may have tormented the old… And yet, always, to all eternity, it is the same specter assailing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/halld-r-laxness/a-new-generation-forgets-the-specters-that-may-have-tormented-the-old/) [Halldór Laxness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/halld-r-laxness/) > [“People don't have the imagination to understand politicians. People are too innocent”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/halld-r-laxness/people-don-t-have-the-imagination-to-understand-politicians-people/) [Halldór Laxness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/halld-r-laxness/) > [“Can't we make a blusterer ourselves? asked Jón Hreggviðsson. Can't we scratch that damned sign with the ax-point onto the chopping block and get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/halld-r-laxness/can-t-we-make-a-blusterer-ourselves-asked-j-n-hreggvi-sson-can-t-we/) [Halldór Laxness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/halld-r-laxness/) > [“Somewhere, out in the infinite distance, lay the spring, at least in God's mind, like babies that are not yet conceived in the mother's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/halld-r-laxness/somewhere-out-in-the-infinite-distance-lay-the-spring-at-least-in-god/) [Halldór Laxness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/halld-r-laxness/) > [“Townsfolk have no conception of the peace that mother nature bestows, and as long as that peace is unfound the spirit must seek to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/halld-r-laxness/townsfolk-have-no-conception-of-the-peace-that-mother-nature-bestows/) [Halldór Laxness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/halld-r-laxness/) > [“Sin - sin is God’s most precious gift.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/halld-r-laxness/sin-sin-is-god-s-most-precious-gift/) [Halldór Laxness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/halld-r-laxness/) > [A free man can live on fish.Independence is better than meat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/halld-r-laxness/a-free-man-can-live-on-fish-independence-is-better-than-meat/) [Halldór Laxness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/halld-r-laxness/) > [“He did not know what to say in the face of such sorrow. He sat in silence by his sister's side in the spring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/halld-r-laxness/he-did-not-know-what-to-say-in-the-face-of-such-sorrow-he-sat-in/) [Halldor Laxness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/halld-r-laxness/) > [“Man is more perfect than god. Although this woman's doctrine, in which she was brought up from childhood, told her than all men were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/halld-r-laxness/man-is-more-perfect-than-god-although-this-woman-s-doctrine-in-which/) [Halldór Laxness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/halld-r-laxness/) > [When a man has a flower in his life he builds a house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/halld-r-laxness/when-a-man-has-a-flower-in-his-life-he-builds-a-house/) [Halldór Laxness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/halld-r-laxness/) > [“Pastor Jón Prímus: Do you remember when Úa shook her curls? Do you remember when she looked at us and laughed? Did she not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/halld-r-laxness/pastor-j-n-pr-mus-do-you-remember-when-a-shook-her-curls-do-you/) [Halldór Laxness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/halld-r-laxness/) > [This was the first time that he has ever looked into the labyrinth of the human soul. He was very far from understanding what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/halld-r-laxness/this-was-the-first-time-that-he-has-ever-looked-into-the-labyrinth-of/) [Halldór Laxness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/halld-r-laxness/) > [“...nothing is true that cannot be proven--and therefore, it's not true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/halld-r-laxness/nothing-is-true-that-cannot-be-proven-and-therefore-it-s-not-true/) [Halldór Laxness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/halld-r-laxness/) > [“We Danes have always been charitable in our trading operations with Iceland. And when our deceased Highness monopolized trade with the island it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/halld-r-laxness/we-danes-have-always-been-charitable-in-our-trading-operations-with/) [Halldór Laxness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/halld-r-laxness/) [Explore all 87 Halldór Laxness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/halld-r-laxness/) ## More Chastity quotes > [Chastity is a virtue with some, but with many it is almost a vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/chastity-is-a-virtue-with-some-but-with-many-it-is-almost-a-vice/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [It is as foolish to make experiments upon the constancy of a friend, as upon the chastity of a wife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/it-is-as-foolish-to-make-experiments-upon-the-constancy-of-a-friend/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [But there is a beauty every girl has—a gift from God, as pure as the sunlight, and as sacred as life. It is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-o-mckay/but-there-is-a-beauty-every-girl-has-a-gift-from-god-as-pure-as-the/) [David O. McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-o-mckay/) > [The soul whose bosom lust did never touch Is God's fair bride; and maiden's souls are such.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tertullian/the-soul-whose-bosom-lust-did-never-touch-is-god-s-fair-bride-and/) [Tertullian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tertullian/) > [Chastity is oftener owing to diffidence and shame, than to fortitude of reason or virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norm-macdonald/chastity-is-oftener-owing-to-diffidence-and-shame-than-to-fortitude/) [Norm MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norm-macdonald/) > [Give me chastity and continence, but not yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/give-me-chastity-and-continence-but-not-yet/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [It is not always from valor or from chastity that men are brave, and women chaste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/it-is-not-always-from-valor-or-from-chastity-that-men-are-brave-and/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [Love clamors far more incessantly and passionately at a closed gate than an open one!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-corelli/love-clamors-far-more-incessantly-and-passionately-at-a-closed-gate/) [Marie Corelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-corelli/) > [Reason and justice tell me there's more love for humanity in electricity and steam than in chastity and vegetarianism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/reason-and-justice-tell-me-there-s-more-love-for-humanity-in/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [I get a little angry about this highhanded scrapping of the look of things. What else have we to go by? How else can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-culkin-banning/i-get-a-little-angry-about-this-highhanded-scrapping-of-the-look-of/) [Margaret Culkin Banning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-culkin-banning/) > [Let us avoid debt as we would avoid a plague...Let every head of every household see to it that he has on hand enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-reuben-clark/let-us-avoid-debt-as-we-would-avoid-a-plague-let-every-head-of-every/) [J. Reuben Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-reuben-clark/) > [There is no true Latter-day Saint who would not rather bury a son or a daughter than to have him or her lose his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heber-j-grant/there-is-no-true-latter-day-saint-who-would-not-rather-bury-a-son-or/) [Heber J. Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heber-j-grant/) > [The Church has no double standard of morality. The moral code of heaven for both men and women is complete chastity before marriage and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/the-church-has-no-double-standard-of-morality-the-moral-code-of/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [Extremes, though contrary, have the like effects. Extreme heat kills, and so extreme cold: extreme love breeds satiety, and so extreme hatred; and too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-chapman/extremes-though-contrary-have-the-like-effects-extreme-heat-kills-and/) [George Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-chapman/) > [There is but one love of Jesus, as there is but one person in the poor - Jesus. We take vows of chastity to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/there-is-but-one-love-of-jesus-as-there-is-but-one-person-in-the-poor/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) [Browse all 295 Chastity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chastity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Item, I've read that there's not a single virgin to be found in your country,\" said the statesman. \"Where might you have read this?\" asked the Professor Antiquitatum. \"The good auctor Blefken says this.\" \"I wonder if the good auctor might not have misread his sources,\" said Arnaeus. \"The best auctores tell us that Icelandic girls remain chaste virgins up until they've had their seventh child, Your Benevolence.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Halldór Laxness" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/halld-r-laxness/item-i-ve-read-that-there-s-not-a-single-virgin-to-be-found-in-your/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Chastity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/halld-r-laxness/item-i-ve-read-that-there-s-not-a-single-virgin-to-be-found-in-your/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f70/halld-r-laxness-6935_chastity_item-i-ve-read-that-there-s-not-a-single_1453279.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f70/halld-r-laxness-6935_chastity_item-i-ve-read-that-there-s-not-a-single_1453279.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f70/halld-r-laxness-6935_chastity_item-i-ve-read-that-there-s-not-a-single_1453279.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Item, I've read that there's not a single virgin to be found in your country,\" said the statesman. \"Where…” — Halldór Laxness", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Halldór Laxness", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/halld-r-laxness/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Item, I've read that there's not...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/halld-r-laxness/item-i-ve-read-that-there-s-not-a-single-virgin-to-be-found-in-your/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/halld-r-laxness/item-i-ve-read-that-there-s-not-a-single-virgin-to-be-found-in-your/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```