"This is where the gods play games with the lives of men, on a board which is at one and the same time a simple playing area and the whole world. And Fate always wins."
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Quote collection
Terry Pratchett quotes (page 43 of 72)
1.4K quotes — follow a thought to its full quote page.
"The real world was far too real to leave neat little hints. It was full of too many things. It wasn't by eliminating the impossible that you got to the truth, however improbable; it was by the much harder process of eliminating the possibilities."
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"But then science is nothing but a series of questions that lead to more questions."
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"One of the things forgotten about the human spirit is that while it is, in the right conditions, noble and brave and wonderful, it is also, when you get right down to it, only human."
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"Or -- and this she knew was a far more accurate way of looking at it -- the book was true and reality was lying."
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"No one remembers the singer. The song remains."
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"Magic never dies. It merely fades away."
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"The librarians were mysterious. It was said they could tell what book you needed just by looking at you, and they could take your voice away with a word."
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"Legends don't have to make sense. They just have to be beautiful. Or at least interesting."
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"Raising the flag and singing the anthem are, while somewhat suspicious, not in themselves acts of treason."
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"Sister Mary was a nurse and nurses, whatever their creed, are primarily nurses, which had a lot to do with wearing your watch upside down, keeping calm in emergencies, and dying for a cup of tea."
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"If there were such a thing as an inter-city thieving contest, Ankh-Morpork would bring home the trophy and probably everyone’s wallets."
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"Last night there seemed to be a chance. Anything was possible last night. That was the trouble with last nights. They were always followed by this mornings."
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"The universe was bad enough without people poking it."
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"He's probably their battle poet, too." "You mean he makes up heroic songs about famous battles?" "No, no. He recites poems that frighten the enemy....When a well-trained gonnagle starts to recite, the enemy's ears explode."
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"THAT’S MORTALS FOR YOU, Death continued. THEY’VE ONLY GOT A FEW YEARS IN THIS WORLD AND THEY SPEND THEM ALL IN MAKING THINGS COMPLICATED FOR THEMSELVES. FASCINATING."
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"I don't think about the end game. I've got lots to occupy my mind. It's the rage that keeps me going."
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"That, lad," he said proudly, "was some of the worst poetry I have heard for a long time. It was offensive to the ear and a torrrture to the soul....We'll make a gonnagle out of ye yet!"
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"The short conversation that follows eventually led to a tree religion. Its tenet of faith was this: a tree that was a good tree and led a clean decent and upstanding life could be assured of a future life after death. If it was very good indeed it would eventually be reincarnated as five thousand rolls of lavatory paper."
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"The city's full of people who you just see around."
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