He is a fool who treats his brother worse than a stranger.
CHINUA ACHEBEIf you have leaders who are prepared to incite group against group it is very easy to manufacture reasons and excuses.
More Chinua Achebe Quotes
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We cannot trample upon the humanity of others without devaluing our own.
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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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It is praiseworthy to be brave and fearless, but sometimes it is better to be a coward. We often stand in the compound of a coward to point at the ruins where a brave man used to live.
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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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Every lizard lies on its belly, so we cannot tell which has a belly-ache
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When mother-cow is chewing grass its young ones watch its mouth
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When an old man dies, a library burns to the ground.
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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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As long as one people sit on another and are deaf to their cry, so long will understanding and peace elude all of us.
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When a mad man walks naked, it is his kinsmen who feel shame, not himself.
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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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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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I prefer to go on trying all kinds of things, not to be told, This is the way it is done.
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When we are comfortable and inattentive, we run the risk of committing grave injustices absentmindedly.
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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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As a rule I don’t like suffering to no purpose. Suffering should be creative, should give birth to something good and lovely.
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Only the story can continue beyond the war and the warrior. The story outlives the sound of the war drum… The story is our escort. Without it we are blind… It is the thing that sets us apart from cattle.
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Literature, whether handed down by word or mouth or in print, gives us a second handle on reality.
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Africa is to Europe as the picture is to Dorian Gray-a carrier onto whom the master unloads his physical & moral deformities.
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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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I am against people reaping where they have not sown. But we have a saying that if you want to eat a toad you should look for a fat and juicy one.
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Become familiar with your home, but know also about your neighbors. The young man who never went anywhere thinks his mother is the greatest cook.
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Each of my books is different. Deliberately. I wanted to create my society, my people, in their fullness.
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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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While we do our good works let us not forget that the real solution lies in a world in which charity will have become unnecessary.
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It is the story that owns and directs us. It is the thing that makes us different from cattle; it is the mark on the face that sets one people apart from their neighbors.
CHINUA ACHEBE