Most of the great triumphs and tragedies of history are caused not by people being fundamentally good or fundamentally evil, but by people being fundamentally people.

—Terry Pratchett

history people evil good flawed

About Terry Pratchett

Portrait of Terry Pratchett

Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English author, humorist, and satirist, best known for the Discworld series of 41 comic fantasy novels published between 1983 and 2015, and for the apocalyptic comedy novel Good Omens (1990), which he co-wrote with Neil Gaiman.

More quotations from Terry Pratchett

A marriage is always made up of two people who are prepared to swear that only the other one snores.

—Terry Pratchett

snoring marriage disagreement

It's a popular fact that 90 percent of the brain is not used and, like most popular facts, it is wrong.… It is used. One of its functions is to make the miraculous seem ordinary, to turn the unusual into the usual. Otherwise, human beings, faced with the daily wondrousness of everything, would go around wearing a stupid grin, saying, "Wow," a lot. Part of the brain exists to stop this from happening. It is very efficient, and can make people experience boredom in the middle of marvels.

—Terry Pratchett

I'll be more enthusiastic about encouraging thinking outside the box when there's evidence of any thinking going on inside it.

—Terry Pratchett

thought thinking

Always be wary of any helpful item that weighs less than its operating manual.

—Terry Pratchett

The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it.

—Terry Pratchett

open-mindedness learning knowledge

More quotations tagged with “good”

So long as the memory of certain beloved friends lives in my heart, I shall say that life is good.

—Helen Keller

love life memory heart good

There are two types of people in this world, good and bad. The good sleep better, but the bad seem to enjoy the waking hours much more.

morality bad good sleep

There's a great satisfaction in knowing that we've made good use of our days, that we've lived up to our expectations of ourselves.

—Gretchen Rubin in Better Than Before

satisfaction expectations good use

Aim above morality. Be not simply good, be good for something.

—Henry David Thoreau

morality good usefulness

Just when it seems like life is getting good, something always has to come along and ruin it.

—Susane Colasanti in So Much Closer

History

7 Jun 2015 Added