410 Quotes by Chinua Achebe

People go to Africa and confirm what they already have in their heads and so they fail to see what is there in front of them.

As a rule I don’t like suffering to no purpose. Suffering should be creative, should give birth to something good and lovely.

Ghana and Nigeria resented each other and competed for supremacy in every sphere – politics, academia, sports, you name it.

A man who pays respect to the great paves the way for his own greatness.

Americans, it seems to me, tend to protect their children from the harshness of life, in their interest. That’s not the way my people rear their children. They let them experience the world as it is.

We shall all live. We pray for life, children, a good harvest and happiness. You will have what is good for you and I will have what is good for me. Let the kite perch and let the egret perch too. If one says no to the other, let his wing break.

My weapon is literature.

His mind, never content with shallow satisfactions, crept to the brink of knowing. What kind of power was it if it would never be used?

The emperor would prefer the poet to keep away from politics, the emperor’s domain, so that he can manage things the way he likes.