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Quotes by South-african Authors
"Pain, unless it is physical, was sold to you (by your culture)."
"Beliefs are conclusions reached by men who are lazy to think for themselves."
"The garden is an unemployed township-based man's cubicle."
"People who complain about something that they cannot do anything about are as irritating as those who complain about something that they can do something about."
"My ship " the Demeter, was a star-liner operated by the Red Star Line. I say 'was' because of the events you will read about in this account. This is a long letter, I know, but I had quite a long time to write it. You probably already know this, having seen the commercials running on all the major channels for the last twenty years or so, but the Red Star Line is the largest cruise operator in the known universe. Unless something has changed between now and by the time you read this, this is probably still true. In fact, customers of the Red Star Line get more quality, value for money " and smiles by Demeter than they do anywhere else. Okay, okay. It's an old joke " corny for sure, but what the hell."
"A healthy man watched what he ate. An intelligent man watched what he watched."
"In some cases, people with a body (whose size) they did not long for are victims of having a bank balance (whose size) they longed for."
"Thou shalt not follow someone, merely because they are following you."
"You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them."
"I look at an ant and I see myself: a native South African, endowed by nature with a strength much greater than my size so I might cope with the weight of a racism that crushes my spirit."
"When you are unemployed, weekends are seven days long."
"That's my life in there. It would never be possible today to ask as many questions as I did."
"We will continue to count on your unwavering support and commitment to working with leaders of our continent in bringing about the desired renaissance of Africa."
"At least I know that one film-maker in my career has had the initiative to come to me and thought of me as being capable of doing interesting and complicated work, and so I have a new-found belief that other film-makers will see me in a different way, the way that Patty did."
"I eventually saw the satirical nature of caricaturing individuals."
"Perhaps the best definition of progress would be the continuing efforts of men and women to narrow the gap between the convenience of the powers that be and the unwritten charter."
"We should express our daily gratitude to our Heavenly Father for He's our God, He's our righteousness. He's the breather of life."
"The streets are a poor kid's PlayStation."
"A strong person forgives even the most unforgivable."
"When people don't understand the meaning of freedom in their lives, they will continue to live as though they're still oppressed."
"Sometimes you will do good and not get an acknowledgement for it. Don't let that dishearten you, the world is a better place with your good deeds."
"You don't expect to get the letter saying, Her Majesty would like to appoint you Knight Commander of the British Empire! It was just a completely overwhelming and exciting day."
"Powerful leaders use their position of power to empower others."
"Anyways, that very same night there was a fight in the casino on B Deck. Some of the passengers got in a set-to that looked to be more about who was eyeballing whose boyfriend than who had the right to wear the same outfit that two of the ladies appeared to be wearing at the same time. Or possibly, what it was really about was who was wearing said outfit better."
"To be better equipped for the tests that the year will bring - read a textbook. To prepare for the tests that life will bring - read a book."
"I stand for simple justice, equal opportunity and human rights. The indispensable elements in a democratic society - and well worth fighting for."
"In my country we go to prison first and then become President."
"There are a lot of homes for boys, but very few for girls, that is why I chose to do for girls."
"Miracles' rely on their observer's ignorance. 'Perfection' relies on the observer's failure to notice the observed's defects."
"The politics of the Cape Town Metro, which allows an executive Mayoral committee to make secret decisions which affect you, behind closed doors, is wrong!"
"There is only one way in which one can endure man's inhumanity to man and that is to try, in one's own life, to exemplify man's humanity to man."
"Elizabeth, Lady C, claims to be writing at the limits of language. Would it not be insulting to her if I were diligently to follow after her, explaining what she means but is not smart enough to say?"
"I am provocative, and I admit this. It isn't as if I'm only on the receiving end, a poor, frail little creature. I can be thoroughly nasty when I get going, and I don't pull my punches."
"The fight for freedom must go on until it is won; until our country is free and happy and peaceful as part of the community of man, we cannot rest."
"I grew up on Bette Davis movies, and Marlene Dietrich, Marilyn Monroe."
"I'd rather have happiness than money. People ask for it. Sometimes when I don't have it. I make other people's problems my problem because they want me to; they ask me to."
"No good work is ever done while the heart is hot and anxious and fretted."
"I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can only rest for a moment, for with freedom come responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not ended."
"It is the answers, not the questions, that are embarrassing."
"I fear that our true motivation is about oil and our own flailing economy; about the failure to destroy Al Qaeda and about revenge."
"Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great, you can be that generation."
"I'd love to get pajamas. Good, nice and warm flannel ones."
"Prayer is a phenomenal tool for power, prudence and prosperity."
"Rich men use most of their money to get richer. Poor men use most of their money to look richer."
"Religion is more beautiful when it brings out the goodness in a person."
"It's to be a person who's able to shoot little arrows into sacred cows and knock politicians off their pedestals, to look out for hypocrisy, advocate for all sorts of things from social justice to peace."
"Some people do everything, some do something, many do nothing - which is bad enough - but the worst of the lot are those who break down what others have built."
"For instance, we're always fighting amongst each other. Who gives us the arms? And then we become indebted to wherever we are buying them from - with what? The very resources we need to keep there."
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