These phrases are engraved on a series of twelve stone benches and four large tables surrounding a field outside Høgskolen i Agder in Kristiansand, Norway. I've been informed the text on the benches are a subset of Jenny Holzer's Truisms, but I'm still not sure about the longer messages on the tables (at the bottom of this page).
Any surplus is immoral Ensure that your life stays in flux Knowledge should be advanced at all costs Opacity is an irresistable challenge Revolution begins with changes in the individual The family is living on borrowed time The idea of transcendence is used to obscure oppression Wishing things away is not effective Your oldest fears are the worst ones Anger or hate can be a useful motivating force Dreaming while awake is a frightening contradiction Humor is a release It is not good to operate on credit Knowing yourself lets you understand others Repetition is the best way to learn Sex differences are here to stay When something terrible happens people wake up Your actions are pointless if no one notices Ambivalence can ruin your life Drama often obscures the real issues Humanism is obsolete Listen when your body talks Myths can make reality more intelligible Raise boys and girls the same way Remember that you always have freedom of choice Technology will make or break us You must know where you stop and the world begins All things are delicately interconnected Do not place too much trust in experts Hiding your motives is despicable It is not good to hold too many absolutes Murder has its sexual side Religion causes as many problems as it solves The world operates according to discoverable laws Using force to stop force is absurd You must have one grand passion Abuse of power comes as no surprise Decadence can be an end in itself Grass roots agitation is the only hope If not political your personal life should be exemplary It is good to give extra money to charity Much was decided before you were born Sloppy thinking gets worse over time Torture is barbaric You must be intimate with a token few A strong sense of duty imprisons you Confusing yourself is a way to stay honest Good deeds eventually are rewarded It is crucial to have an active fantasy life Mothers should not make too many sacrifices Push yourself to the limit as often as possible Sometimes science advances faster than it should Threatening someone sexually is a horrible act You cannot fool others if you are fooling yourself A little knowledge can go a long way Awful punishment awaits really bad people Even your family can betray you If you have many desires your life will be interesting Labor is a life-destroying activity People are boring unless they are extremists Romantic love was invented to manipulate women The cruelest disappointment is when you let yourself down Words tend to be inadequate A man cannot know what it is like to be a mother Being happy is more important than anything else Every achievement requires a sacrifice If you live simply there is nothing to worry about Lack of charisma can be fatal People who do not work with their hands are parasites Routine is a link with the past The new is nothing but a restatement of the old You are a victim of the rules you live by A name means a lot just by itself Boredom makes you do crazy things Everyone's work is equally important Ignoring enemies is the best way to fight People will not behave if they have nothing to lose Salvation cannot be bought and sold The sum of your actions determines what you are We must make sacrifices to maintain our quality of life You are guileless in your dreams A sense of timing is the mark of genius Chasing the new is dangerous to society Expiring for love is beautiful but stupid It can be helpful to keep going no matter what Low expectations are good protection Occasionally principles are more valuable than people Planning for the future is escapism The unattainable is invariably attractive You are the past present and future A sincere effort is all you can ask Children are the hope of the future Fathers often use too much force It is better to be a good person than a famous person Men are not monogamous by nature Potential counts for nothing until it is realized Sin is a means of social control Stasis is a dream state You are responsible for constituting meaning A single event can have infinitely many interpretations Children are the most cruel of all Fear is the greatest incapacitator It is better to be naive than jaded Money creates taste Private property created crime Solitude is enriching There are too few immutable truths today You cannot expect people to be something they are not - You should limit the number of times you act against your nature, like sleeping with people you hate. It is interesting to test your capabilities but too much will cause damage. - Pets can be chosen by their ability to express great excitement, affection and gratitude, reptiles do not show much but are valued as exotica. - You wonder if the pain you get in the side from mild exertion would go away if you were being chased by someone with a broken bottle. - Up to a certain age many people take pleasure in marking and scarring themselves. Then comes a time when the same individuals start to conserve their strength and beauty. - It is unfair to tear somebody apart when her health and exuberance threaten you. - It takes a while before you can step over inert bodies and go ahead with what you were trying to do. - More than once I have awakened with tears running down my cheeks. I have had to think whether I was crying or whether it was involuntary like drooling. - There is pleasure in staying home to adjust each physical detail so that wherever the eye falls there is harmony then you go outside and do the same. - Exercise breaks at strategic points during the day enhance productivity and provide simultaneous sensations of relief and rejuvenation. - Some days you wake and immediately start to worry. Nothing in particular is wrong. It is just the suspicion that forces aligning quietly and there will be trouble. - Two creatures can want to move and rest in close proximity even if they are afraid of each other. I am thinking of a wild animal following someone in the woods. - What a shock when they tell you it will not hurt and you almost turn inside out when they begin. - Something happens to the voices of people who live outside. The sounds are unnaturally low and hoarse as if the cold and dampness have entered the throat. - There is the sensation of a lot of flesh when every single hair stands up. This happens when you are cold and naked, aroused or simply terrified. - When you have been someplace for a while you acquire the ability to be practically invisible. This lets you operate with a minimum of interference. - You can watch people align themselves when trouble is in the air. Some prefer to be close to those at the top and others want to be near those at the bottom. It is a question of who frightens them more and whom they want to be like. - You are home free as soon as no one knows where to find you. - Sometimes you have no other choice but to watch something gruesome occur. You do not have the option of closing your eyes because it happens fast and enters your memory. - Having two or three people in love with you is like money in the bank. - It makes a difference with whom you are intimate and upon whom you depend. Friends only will tolerate certain actions and this influences what you believe to be possible or desirable.