You do not know me,’ said Tortoise. ‘I am a changed man. I have learned that a man who makes trouble for others makes trouble for himself.
CHINUA ACHEBEIf you don’t like someone’s story, write your own.
More Chinua Achebe Quotes
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Every generation must find its mission and fulfill it, as Fanon said – or betray it. So it is not something that you can write up on the wall, saying this is what has to be done. Every generation has to discover what it needs to do.
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The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart.
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The impatient idealist says: ‘Give me a place to stand and I shall move the earth.’ But such a place does not exist. We all have to stand on the earth itself and go with her at her pace.
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No matter how prosperous a man was, if he was unable to rule his women and his children (and especially his women) he was not really a man.
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A coward may cover the ground with his words but when the time comes to fight he runs away.
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When a man is at peace with his gods and ancestors, his harvest will be good or bad according to the strength of his arm.
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There is nothing to fear from someone who shouts.
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My son even if you want to fall, at least fall where your bones can be gathered.
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The world is large,” said Okonkwo. “I have even heard that in some tribes a man’s children belong to his wife and her family.” “That cannot be,” said Machi. “You might as well say that the woman lies on top of the man when they are making the babies.
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A man who makes trouble for others is also making trouble for himself.
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When brothers fight to death a stranger inherit their father’s estate.
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In dealing with a man who thinks you are a fool, it is good sometimes to remind him that you know what he knows but have chosen to appear foolish for the sake of peace.
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He is a fool who treats his brother worse than a stranger.
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If one finger brings oil it soils the others.
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If you have leaders who are prepared to incite group against group it is very easy to manufacture reasons and excuses.
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Do not be in a hurry to rush into the pleasures of the world like the young antelope who danced herself lame when the main dance was yet to come.
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When we are comfortable and inattentive, we run the risk of committing grave injustices absentmindedly.
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A goat does not eat into a hen’s stomach no matter how friendly the two may be.
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The world is like a Mask dancing. If you want to see it well, you do not stand in one place.
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A man who pays respect to the great paves the way for his own greatness
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If you don’t like someone’s story, write your own. If you don’t like what somebody says, say what it is you don’t like.
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An artist in my view is always afraid of extremists; he is always afraid of those who claim to have found the ultimate solution to any question.
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I think not just Nigeria but I think the whole of Africa has to turn back to the rural areas and that’s where the majority of the citizens are and that’s where the engine of of development has to be found.
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I think back to the old people I knew when I was growing up, and they always seemed larger than life.
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I don’t like to see mistakes on the typewriter. I like a perfect script. On the typewriter I will sometimes leave a phrase that is not right, not what I want, simply because to change it would be a bit messy.
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We do not seek to hurt any man, but if any man seeks to hurt us may he break his neck.
CHINUA ACHEBE