Since today is the birthday of Sir Terence David John Pratchett, better known to the world as Discworld author Terry Pratchett (Happy Birthday, Sir Terry!), we’ve compiled a list of our favourite one-liners and wise remarks from the master of comic fantasy. We hope you enjoy these fine Pratchett quotes.
‘Stories of imagination tend to upset those without one.’
– Foreword to The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fantasy (1998) by David Pringle
‘A marriage is always made up of two people who are prepared to swear that only the other one snores.’
– The Fifth Elephant
‘When I was a child I read books far too old for me and sometimes far too young for me. Every reading child is different. Introduce them to the love of reading, show them the way to the library and let them get on with it. The space between the young reader’s eyeballs and the printed page is a holy place and officialdom should trample all over it at their peril.’
‘Steal five dollars and you’re a common thief. Steal thousands and you’re either the government or a hero.’
– Going Postal
‘People think that stories are shaped by people. In fact, it’s the other way around.’
– Witches Abroad
‘Never trust any complicated cocktail that remains perfectly clear until the last ingredient goes in, and then immediately clouds.’
– alt.fan.pratchett (22 November 1993)
‘I’ll be more enthusiastic about encouraging thinking outside the box when there’s evidence of any thinking going on inside it.’
‘Most modern fantasy just rearranges the furniture in Tolkien’s attic.’
– Wordsmiths of Wonder (1993)
‘Imagination, not intelligence, made us human.’
– Foreword to The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fantasy (1998)
‘Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.’
– A Hat Full of Sky