574 Quotes by Doris Lessing

Humanity’s legacy of stories and storytelling is the most precious we have. All wisdom is in our stories and songs. A story is how we construct our experiences.

They can’t give a Nobel to someone who’s dead so I think they were probably thinking they had better give it to me now before I popped off.

Her look at him was now as aggressive as his had been. ‘It’s all very well for you, you’re a man,’ she said bitterly, and entirely without coquetry; but he said flippantly, even suggestively, ‘It will be all quite well for you too!

But far within him something cried For the great tragedy to start, The pang in lingering mercy fall And sorrow break upon his heart. – EDWIN MUIR.

The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself.

He had decided not to be angry: it was killing him.

I am increasingly afflicted by vertigo where words mean nothing.

For better or worse, we are prepared to experiment with ourselves, to try and be different kinds of people. But you simply submitted to something.

I’m always astounded at the way we automatically look at what divides and separates us. We never look at what people have in common.