Terry Pratchett Quotes

I've always felt that what I have going for me is not my imagination, because everyone has an imagination. What I have is a relentlessly controlled imagination. What looks like wild invention is actually quite carefully calculated.

By the time you've reached your sixties, you do know that one day you will die, and knowing that is at least the beginning of wisdom.

It is often said that before you die your life passes before your eyes. It is in fact true. It's called living.

There was once a caustic comment from someone suggesting I was breeding a new race. Fans from different countries have married, amazing things like that. I've been to some of the weddings. I went to one here the other day, a pagan ceremony.

Never trust any complicated cocktail that remains perfectly clear until the last ingredient goes in, and then immediately clouds.

If it wasn't for the fun and money, I really don't... -Terry Pratchett

If it wasn't for the fun and money, I really don't know why I'd bother.

I have a living will and I have friends, and I hav... -Terry Pratchett

I have a living will and I have friends, and I have money and I have hope.

Discovering the context

The quote highlights several aspects that contribute to the speaker's sense of security, including having a living will, friends, financial resources, and a hopeful outlook, emphasizing a comprehensive perspective on well-being.

It seems that when you have cancer you are a brave battler against the disease, but when you have Alzheimer's you are an old fart. That's how people see you. It makes you feel quite alone.

It seems sensible to me that we should look to the medical profession, that over the centuries has helped us to live longer and healthier lives, to help us die peacefully among our loved ones in our own home without a long stay in God's waiting room.

The intelligence of the creature known as a crowd,... -Terry Pratchett

The intelligence of the creature known as a crowd, is the square root of the number of people in it.

My experience in Amsterdam is that cyclists ride where the hell they like and aim in a state of rage at all pedestrians while ringing their bell loudly, the concept of avoiding people being foreign to them.

If the government ever imposes a tax on books - and I wouldn't put it past them - I'm in dead trouble.

Only in our dreams are we free. The rest of the ti... -Terry Pratchett

Only in our dreams are we free. The rest of the time we need wages.

The truth may be out there, but lies are inside yo... -Terry Pratchett

The truth may be out there, but lies are inside your head.

The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it.

Over the centuries, mankind has tried many ways of combating the forces of evil... prayer, fasting, good works and so on. Up until Doom, no one seemed to have thought about the double-barrel shotgun. Eat leaden death, demon.

I believe it should be possible for someone stricken with a serious and ultimately fatal illness to choose to die peacefully with medical help, rather than suffer.

Seven hundred thousand people who have dementia in this country are not heard. I'm fortunate; I can be heard. Regrettably, it's amazing how people listen if you stand up in public and give away $1 million for research into the disease, as I have done.

They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it's not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance.

I was a very keen reader of science fiction.

Dickens, as you know, never got round to starting ... -Terry Pratchett

Dickens, as you know, never got round to starting his home page.

Discovering the context

This quote humorously refers to Charles Dickens, a renowned author, and his lack of involvement in creating a personal website or online presence. It highlights the absence of a digital representation of one's home or personal space during Dickens' time, emphasizing the contrast with contemporary digital platforms.

I think perhaps the most important problem is that we are trying to understand the fundamental workings of the universe via a language devised for telling one another when the best fruit is.