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.
CHINUA ACHEBEOne of the truest tests of integrity is its blunt refusal to be compromised.
More Chinua Achebe Quotes
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No man however great is greater than his people.
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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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Let the kite perch and let the eagle perch too – If one says no to the other, let his wing break.
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If one finger brings oil it soils the others.
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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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Women and music should not be dated.
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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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It has always been quite apparent to me that no important story can fail to tell us something of value to us.
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Among the Igbo the art of conversation is regarded very highly, and proverbs are the palm-oil with which words are eaten.
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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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It is the storyteller who makes us what we are, who creates history. The storyteller creates the memory that the survivors must have – otherwise their surviving would have no meaning.
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What a country needs to do is be fair to all its citizens – whether people are of a different ethnicity or gender.
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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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A man who makes trouble for others is also making trouble for himself.
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Every lizard lies on its belly, so we cannot tell which has a belly-ache
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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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The lizard that jumped from a high Iroko tree to the ground said he would praise himself if no-one else did.
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If I hold her hand she says, ‘Don’t touch!’ If I hold her foot she says ‘Don’t touch!’ But when I hold her waist-beads she pretends not to know.
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When old people speak it is not because of the sweetness of words in our mouths; it is because we see something which you do not see.
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He is a fool who treats his brother worse than a stranger.
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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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There is a moral obligation, I think, not to ally oneself with power against the powerless.
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Charity is the opium of the privileged.
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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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The sun will shine on those who stand before it shines on those who kneel under them.
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Just think of the work you’ve set yourself to do, and do it as well as you can.
CHINUA ACHEBE