“Some humans would do anything to see if it was possible to do it. If you put a large switch in some cave somewhere, with a sign on it saying 'End-of-the-World Switch. PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH', the paint wouldn't even have time to dry.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from Thief of Time
“When in doubt, choose to live.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from Thief of Time
“Sometimes I really think people ought to have to pass a proper exam before they're allowed to be parents. Not just the practical, I mean.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from Thief of Time
“Look, that's why there's rules, understand? So that you think before you break 'em.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from Thief of Time
“The first words that are read by seekers of enlightenment in the secret, gong-banging, yeti-haunted valleys near the hub of the world, are when they look into The Life of Wen the Eternally Surprised.
The first question they ask is: 'Why was he eternally surprised?'
And they are told: 'Wen considered the nature of time and understood that the universe is, instant by instant, recreated anew. Therefore, he understood, there is in truth no past, only a memory of the past. Blink your eyes, and the world you see next did not exist when you closed them. Therefore, he said, the only appropriate state of the mind is surprise. The only appropriate state of the heart is joy. The sky you see now, you have never seen before. The perfect moment is now. Be glad of it.'
The first words read by the young Lu-Tze when he sought perplexity in the dark, teeming, rain-soaked city of Ankh-Morpork were: 'Rooms For Rent, Very Reasonable.' And he was glad of it.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from Thief of Time
“The thing is, I mean, there’s times when you look at the universe and you think, “What about me?” and you can just hear the universe replying, “Well, what about you?” ”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from Thief of Time
“Jeremy tried to be an interesting person. The trouble was that he was the kind of person who, having decided to be an interesting person, would first of all try to find a book called How to Be An Interesting Person and then see whether there were any courses available.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from Thief of Time
“Time was something that largely happened to other people; he viewed it in the same way that people on the shore viewed the sea. It was big and it was out there, and sometimes it was an invigorating thing to dip a toe into, but you couldn't live in it all the time. Besides, it always made his skin wrinkle.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from Thief of Time
“When you look into the abyss, it’s not supposed to wave back.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from Thief of Time
“There is no doubt that being human is incredibly difficult and cannot be mastered in one lifetime.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from Thief of Time
“Seeing things a human shouldn't have to see makes us human.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from Thief of Time
“In order to have a change of fortune at the last minute, you have to take your fortune to the last minute.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from Thief of Time
“Things are not as they seem. They are what they are.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from Thief of Time
“No other species anywhere in the world had invented boredom. Perhaps it was boredom, not intelligence, that had propelled them up to the evolutionary ladder.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from Thief of Time
“Oh, where are my manners? Do sit down. Pull up a small child.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from Thief of Time
“Questions don't have to make sense, Vincent," said Miss Susan. "But answers do.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from Thief of Time
“Sometimes thinking is like talking to another person, but that person is also you.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from Thief of Time
“Genius is always allowed some leeway, once the hammer has been pried from its hands and the blood has been cleaned up.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from Thief of Time
“Even with nougat, you can have a perfect moment.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from Thief of Time
“...'I thought the rule was that all monks were shaved.'
'Oh, Soto says he is bald under the hair,'said Lu Tze. 'He says the hair is a separate creature that just happens to live on him.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from Thief of Time
“Wen considered the nature of time and understood that the universe is, instant by instant, re-created anew. Therefore, he understood, there is, in truth, no Past, only a memory of the Past. Blink your eyes, and the world you see next did not exist when you closed them. Therefore, he said, the only appropriate state of the mind is surprise. The only appropriate state of the heart is joy. The sky you see now, you have never seen before. The perfect moment is now. Be glad of it.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from Thief of Time
“EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS, STAYS HAPPENED.
"What kind of philosophy is that?"
THE ONLY ONE THAT WORKS.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from Thief of Time
“Don't you *ever* let go?"
"I haven't yet."
"Why?"
"I suppose... because in this world, after everyone panics, there's always got to be someone to tip the wee out of the shoe.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from Thief of Time
“There's no educating a smart boy.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from Thief of Time
“He had never been interested in stories at any age, and had never quite understood the basic concept. He'd never read a work of fiction all the way through. He did remember, as a small boy, being really annoyed at the depiction of Hickory Dickory Dock in a rag book of nursery rhymes because the clock in the drawing was completely wrong for the period.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from Thief of Time
“That is because you don't yet know how to deal with time," said Wen. "But I will teach you to deal with time as you would deal with a coat, to be worn when necessary and discarded when not."
"Will I have to wash it?" said Clodpool.
Wen gave him a long, slow look.
"That was either a very complex piece of thinking on your part, Clodpool, or you were just trying to overextend a metaphor in a rather stupid way. Which, do you think, it was?"
Clodpool looked at his feet. Then he looked at the sky. Then he looked at Wen.
"I think I am stupid, master."
"Good," said Wen. "It is fortuitous that you are my apprentice at this time, because if I can teach you, Clodpool, I can teach anyone.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from Thief of Time
“And, er, these stories about you..."
"Oh, all true. Most of them. A bit of exaggeration, but mostly true."
"The one about the Citadel in Muntab and the Pash and the fish bone?"
"Oh, yes."
"But how did you get in where half a dozen armed and trained men couldn't even - ?"
"I am a little man and I carry a broom," said Lu-Tze simply. "Everyone has some mess that needs clearing up. What harm is a man with a broom?"
"What? And that was it?"
"Well, the rest was a matter of cookery, really. The Pash was not a good man, but he was a glutton for his fish pie."
"No martial arts?" said Lobsang.
"Oh, always a last resort. History needs shepherds, not butchers."
"Do you know okidoki?"
"Just a lot of bunny-hops."
"Shittake?"
"If I wanted to thrust my hand into hot sand I would go to the seaside."
"Upsidazi?"
"A waste of good bricks."
"No kando?"
"You made that one up.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from Thief of Time
“Just a minute," said Lobsang. "Who are you? Time has stopped, the world is given over to...fairy tales and monsters, and there's a schoolteacher walking around?"
"Best kind of person to have," said Susan. "We don't like silliness. Anyway, I told you. I've inherited certain talents."
"Like living outside of time?"
"That's one of them."
"It's a weird talent for a schoolteacher!"
"Good for marking, though," said Susan calmly.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from Thief of Time
“People like that don't need a reason apart from "because I can". They have a nightmare and try to make it happen.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from Thief of Time
Terry Pratchett
Born place: in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England, The United Kingdom
Born date April 28, 1948
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“Their eyes met at the same instant moment, Therese glancing up from a box she was opening, and the woman just turning her head so she looked directly at Therese. She was tall and fair, her long figure graceful in the loose fur coat that she held open with a hand on her waist, her eyes were grey, colorless, yet dominant as light or fire, and, caught by them, Therese could not look away. She heard the customer in front of her repeat a question, and Therese stood there, mute. The woman was looking at Therese, too, with a preoccupied expression, as if half her mind were on whatever is was she meant to buy here, and though there were a number of salesgirls between them, There felt sure the woman would come to her, Then, Then Therese saw her walk slowly towards the counter, heard her heart stumble to catch up with the moment it had let pass, and felt her face grow hot as the woman came nearer and nearer.”
― Patricia Highsmith, quote from The Price of Salt
“Dimitri? She tried not to influence him. It was their decision together, not just hers. She knew he would listen with an open mind to her reasons and she wanted to be able to do the same for him.
His laughter was soft in her mind, filling her with an odd tingling sensation, with a small rush of heat. Skyler.
That was it. Her name. She sent him a look from under her lashes, one she usually reserved for Josef. Are you mocking me?
Teasing you. Just a little. We’re getting the wolf pups. How could I possibly say no to a gift like that? You would never stop arguing with me.
Discussing. I was totally prepared to be reasonable and listen to you and then show you all the reasons you were absolutely wrong if you disagreed.
Dimitri burst out laughing.”
― Christine Feehan, quote from Dark Wolf
“Never talk back to a teacher. Teachers are like God. Actually, teachers are God's boss.”
― quote from Countdown
“The Unknown surrounds us at any given moment. That is where we seek knowledge.”
― Brian Herbert, quote from House Harkonnen
“Злото, както се оказа, не беше нещо грандиозно. Не беше усмихнат император с коварен план да покори целия свят. Не беше и кискащи се зловещо в тъмнината на отвъдното демони. Беше нищожен човечец, с долни постъпки и още по-долни мотиви. Беше скъперничество, безхаберие и прахосничество. Лош късмет, некомпетентност и глупост. Беше насилие, безсъвесност и безнаказаност. Високи идеали и долни средства за постигането им.”
― Joe Abercrombie, quote from Red Country
Mockingbird
Start Something That...
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Superintelligence: P...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.
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