T.H. White Quotes

She hardly ever thought of him. He had worn a place for himself in some corner of her heart, as a sea shell, always boring against the rock, might do. The making of the place had been her pain. But now the shell was safely in the rock. It was lodged, and ground no longer.

If people reach perfection they vanish, you know.

Their mother is Athene, the goddess of wisdom, and, although they are often ready to play the buffoon to amuse you, such conduct is the prerogative of the truly wise.

When shall I be dead and rid
Of all the wrong my father did?
How long, how long 'till spade and hearse
Put to sleep my mother's curse?

He did not like the grown-ups who talked down to him, but the ones who went on talking in their usual way, leaving him to leap along in their wake, jumping at meanings, guessing, clutching at known words, and chuckling at complicated jokes as they suddenly dawned. He had the glee of the porpoise then, pouring and leaping through strange seas.

There were thousands of brown books in leather bindings, some chained to the book-shelves and others propped against each other as if they had had too much to drink and did not really trust themselves. These gave out a smell of must and solid brownness which was most secure.

Love is a trick played on us by the forces of evolution. Pleasure is the bait laid down by the same. There is only power. Power is of the individual mind but the mind's power is not enough. Power of the body decides everything in the end and only might is right.

The race will find that capitalists and communists modify themselves so much during the ages that they end by being indistinguishable as democrats...

He felt in his heart cruelty and cowardice, the things which made him brave and kind.

Sometimes, we give the best of our hearts uncritically - to those who hardly think of us in return.

In war, our elders may give the orders...but it is the young who have to fight.

Those who lived by the sword were forced to die by it.

It is a pity that there are no big creatures to prey on humanity. If there were enough dragons and rocs, perhaps mankind would turn its might against them. Unfortunately man is preyed upon by microbes, which are too small to be appreciated.

War is like a fire. One man may start it, but it will spread all over. It is not about one thing in particular.

It has to be admitted that starving nations never seem to be quite so starving that they cannot afford to have far more expensive armaments than anybody else.

Any one war seems rooted in its antecedents.

And do you know another thing, Arthur? Life is too bitter already, without territories and wars and noble feuds.

Perhaps he does not want to be friends with you until he knows what you are like. With owls, it is never easy-come-easy-go.

It is so fatally easy to make young children believe that they are horrible.