Roald Dahl

A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly.

There is no life I know to compare with pure imagination. Living there, you’ll be free if you truly wish to be.

And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.

So please, oh please, we beg, we pray, go throw your TV set away, and in its place you can install, a lovely bookshelf on the wall.

If you are going to get anywhere in life you have to read a lot of books.

I don’t care if a reader hates one of my stories, just as long as he finishes the book.

Don’t order any black things. Rejoice in his memory; and be radiant: leave grief to the children. Wear violet and purple. Be patient with the poor people who will snivel: they don’t know; and they think they will live for ever, which makes death a division instead of a bond.

To hold a pen is to be at war.

The wilderness is near as well as dear to every man. Even the oldest villages are indebted to the border of wild wood which surrounds them, more than to the gardens of men. There is something indescribably inspiriting and beautiful in the aspect of the forest skirting and occasionally jutting into the midst of new towns, which, like the sand-heaps of fresh fox-burrows, have sprung up in their midst. The very uprightness of the pines and maples asserts the ancient rectitude and vigor of nature. Our lives need the relief of such a background, where the pine flourishes and the jay still screams.

Undeservedly you will atone for the sins of your fathers.

The less you open your heart to others, the more your heart suffers.

Have the courage to say no. Have the courage to face the truth. Do the right thing because it is right. These are the magic keys to living your life with integrity.

The genius, wit, and the spirit of a nation are discovered by their proverbs.

Some critics will write ‘Maya Angelou is a natural writer’ – which is right after being a natural heart surgeon.

It is only through labour and painful effort, by grim energy and resolute courage; that we move on to better things.

Dare to think for yourself.

The only thing that is ultimately real about your journey is the step that you are taking at this moment. That’s all there ever is.

Life must be filled up, and the man who is not capable of intellectual pleasures must content himself with such as his senses can afford.

If you live for people’s acceptance, you’ll die from their rejections.

When you’ve worked hard, and done well, and walked through that doorway of opportunity, you do not slam it shut behind you. You reach back, and you give other folks the same chances that helped you succeed.

If we do not maintain Justice, Justice will not maintain us.