As the author of more than 50 best-selling titles, Sir Terry Pratchett is still influencing the hearts and minds of children and adults alike, even after his passing in 2015. Marked by his ability to make the mundane extraordinary and build continually unfolding fantasy worlds, Pratchett’s hilarious novels are deservedly beloved. Dive into the quotes below to experience Pratchett’s singularly affecting blend of humor, magic, and heart.
Quotes about Life and Love
Each of Terry Pratchett’s titles contains nuggets of wisdom on what life is all about and what to do when it doesn’t go the way we expect (which, according to him, is most times). Pratchett tends to focus on our ability to control only our own choices in the face of this inconsistent, confusing—but often delightful—world, making for some truly inspiring turns of phrase.
“Nanny enjoyed music, as well. If music were the food of love, she was game for a sonata and chips at any time.” –Maskerade
"‘The female mind is certainly a devious one, my lord.’Vetinari looked at his secretary in surprise. ‘Well, of course it is. It has to deal with the male one.’" –Unseen Academicals
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.” –A Hat Full of Sky
"God does not play dice with the universe; He plays an ineffable game of His own devising, which might be compared, from the perspective of any of the other players [i.e. everybody], to being involved in an obscure and complex variant of poker in a pitch-dark room, with blank cards, for infinite stakes, with a Dealer who won’t tell you the rules, and who smiles all the time.” – Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, Good Omens
“People aren’t just people, they are people surrounded by circumstances.” –I Shall Wear Midnight
“Even if it's not your fault, it's your responsibility.” –A Hat Full of Sky
“There isn't a way things should be. There's just what happens, and what we do.” –A Hat Full of Sky
“They didn't know why these things were funny. Sometimes you laugh because you've got no more room for crying. Sometimes you laugh because table manners on a beach are funny. And sometimes you laugh because you're alive, when you really shouldn't be.” –Nation
“It is important that we know where we come from, because if you do not know where you come from, then you don't know where you are, and if you don't know where you are, you don't know where you're going. And if you don't know where you're going, you're probably going wrong.” –I Shall Wear Midnight
“If you don’t turn your life into a story, you just become a part of someone else’s story.” –The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents
“If you trust in yourself…and believe in your dreams…and follow your star…you’ll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren’t so lazy.” –The Wee Free Men
“When in doubt, choose to live.” –Thief of Time
“‘The secret is not to dream,’ she whispered. ‘The secret is to wake up.’” –The Wee Free Men
“The thing is, I mean, there’s times when you look at the universe and you think, 'What about me?' and you can just hear the universe replying, 'Well, what about you?'” –Thief of Time
“Find out why the world is not as you thought it was. Assemble the facts, digest the information, consider the implications. THEN go postal. But with precision.” –Thud!
“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.” -A Hat Full of Sky
“Odd thing, ain't it... you meet people one at a time, they seem decent, they got brains that work, and then they get together and you hear the voice of the people. And it snarls.” -Jingo
“If cats looked like frogs we'd realize what nasty, cruel little bastards they are. Style. That's what people remember.” -Lords and Ladies
"Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life." -Jingo
Quotes About Intelligence
Beloved for his ability to craft undeniably smart stories for children, without condescension, it’s unsurprising that Terry Pratchett often had a lot to say about intelligence...or the lack thereof.
“The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it.” –Diggers: The Bromeliad Trilogy #2
“The enemy wasn't men, or women, or the old, or even the dead. It was just bleedin' stupid people, who came in all varieties. And no one had the right to be stupid.” –Monstrous Regiment
“Jeremy tried to be an interesting person. The trouble was that he was the kind of person who, having decided to be an interesting person, would first of all try to find a book called How to Be An Interesting Person and then see whether there were any courses available.” –Thief of Time
“The presence of those seeking the truth is infinitely to be preferred to the presence of those who think they've found it.” –Monstrous Regiment
Quotes About Death
Not one to shy away from difficult subjects, Pratchett often examined death—even making Death himself a character—in his works. Reexamining Pratchett’s honest, tender, and sometimes humorous attitude toward death after his passing in 2015 may bring a degree of comfort to fans and a new poignancy to his words.
“Anyway, if you stop tellin' people it's all sorted out after they're dead, they might try sorting it all out while they're alive.” – Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, Good Omens
“I dearly wished I could change the past. Well, I can’t, but I can change the present, so that when it becomes the past it will turn out to be a past worth having.” –I Shall Wear Midnight
"She heard him mutter, 'Can you take away this grief? ''I'm sorry,' she replied. 'Everyone asks me. And I would not do so even if I knew how. It belongs to you. Only time and tears take away grief; that is what they are for.’” –I Shall Wear Midnight
“DON'T THINK OF IT AS DYING, said Death. JUST THINK OF IT AS LEAVING EARLY TO AVOID THE RUSH.” – Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, Good Omens
“Do you not know that a man is not dead while his name is still spoken?” –Going Postal
"Time is a drug. Too much of it kills you." -Small Gods
"It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life." -The Last Continent
