Quotes from The 13 Clocks

“Remember laughter. You'll need it even in the blessed isles of Ever After.”
― James Thurber, quote from The 13 Clocks

“Time is for dragonflies and angels. The former live too little and the latter live too long.”
― James Thurber, quote from The 13 Clocks

“I can feel a thing I cannot touch and touch a thing I cannot feel. The first is sad and sorry, the second is your heart.”
― James Thurber, quote from The 13 Clocks

“I make mistakes, but I am on the side of Good," the Golux said, "by accident and happenchance. I had high hopes of being Evil when I was two, but in my youth I came upon a firefly burning in a spider's web. I saved the victim's life."
"The firefly's ?" said the minstrel.
"The spider's. The blinking arsonist had set the web on fire.”
― James Thurber, quote from The 13 Clocks

“You mere device," he gnarled. "You platitude! Your Gollux ex machina!”
― James Thurber, quote from The 13 Clocks

“The brambles and the thorns grew thick and thicker in a ticking thicket of bickering crickets. Farther along and stronger, bonged the gongs of a throng of frogs, green and vivid on their lily pads. From the sky came the crying of flies, and the pilgrims leaped over a bleating sheep creeping knee-deep in a sleepy stream, in which swift and slippery snakes slid and slithered silkily, whispering sinful secrets.”
― James Thurber, quote from The 13 Clocks

“What would you do without me? Say 'nothing.'"
"Nothing," said the Prince.
"Good. Then you're helpless and I'll help you.”
― James Thurber, quote from The 13 Clocks

“Time lies frozen there. It's always Then. It's never Now.”
― James Thurber, quote from The 13 Clocks

“I am the Golux, the only Golux in the world and not a mere device”
― James Thurber, quote from The 13 Clocks

“There was an old coddle so molly,
He talked in a glot that was poly,
His gaws were so gew
That his laps became dew,
And he ate only pops that were lolly.”
― James Thurber, quote from The 13 Clocks

“They've got him!" squealed the Duke. "Eleven men to one!"

"You may have heard of Galahad," said Hark, "whose strength was as the strength of ten."

"That leaves one man to get him," cried the Duke.”
― James Thurber, quote from The 13 Clocks

“I can do a score of things that can’t be done.

I can find a thing I can’t see, and I see a thing I can’t find.

The first is time, and the second is a spot before my eyes.

I can feel a thing I cannot touch, and I touch a thing I cannot feel.

The first is sad and sorry, and the second is your heart.

What would you do without me? Say “nothing”.”
― James Thurber, quote from The 13 Clocks

“Half the places I have been to, never were. I make things up. Half the things I say are there cannot be found. When I was young I told a tale of buried gold, and men from leagues around dug in the woods. I dug myself."

"But why?"

"I thought the tale of treasure might be true."

"You said you made it up."

"I know I did, but then I didn't know I had. I forget things, too.”
― James Thurber, quote from The 13 Clocks

“A dehoy who was terribly hobble,
Cast only stones that were cobble
And bats that were ding,
From a shot that was sling,
But never hit inks that were bobble.”
― James Thurber, quote from The 13 Clocks

“The oyster is a blob of glup, but a woman is a woman.”
― James Thurber, quote from The 13 Clocks

“Once upon a time, in a gloomy castle on a lonely hill, where there were thirteen clocks that wouldn't go, there lived a cold, aggressive Duke, and his niece, the Princess Saralinda. She was warm in every wind and weather, but he was always cold. His hands were as cold as his smile and almost as cold as his heart. He wore gloves when he was asleep, and he wore gloves when he was awake, which made if difficult for him to pick up pins or coins or the kernels of nuts, or to tear the wings from nightingales. He was six feet four, and forty-six, and even colder than he thought he was.”
― James Thurber, quote from The 13 Clocks

“You'll never live to wed his niece. You'll only die to feed his geese.”
― James Thurber, quote from The 13 Clocks

“Something very much like nothing anyone had ever seen before came trotting down the stairs and crossed the room.

"What is that?" the Duke asked, palely.

"I don't know what it is," said Hark, "but it's the only one there ever was.”
― James Thurber, quote from The 13 Clocks

“We all have flaws," he said, "and mine is being wicked.”
― James Thurber, quote from The 13 Clocks

“The Princess Saralinda was tall, with freesias in her dark hair, and she wore serenity brightly like the rainbow. It was not easy to tell her mouth from the rose, or her brow from the white lilac. Her voice was faraway music, and her eyes were candles burning on a tranquil night. She moved across the room like wind in violets, and her laughter sparkled on the air, which, from her presence, gained a faint and undreamed fragrance. The Prince was frozen by her beauty, but not cold, and the Duke, who was cold but not frozen, held up the palms of his gloves, as if she were a fire at which to warm his hands.”
― James Thurber, quote from The 13 Clocks

“The Duke is lamer than I am old, and I am shorter than he is cold, but it comes to you with some surprise that I am wiser than he is wise.”
― James Thurber, quote from The 13 Clocks

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About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.