Alexander McCall Smith Quotes

Top 100 wise famous quotes and sayings by Alexander McCall Smith

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Alexander McCall Smith Famous Quotes & Sayings

Discover top inspirational quotes from Alexander McCall Smith on Wise Famous Quotes.

Alexander McCall Smith quotes: None of us, she thought, wants the world we know to come to an end; we do not want familiar things to be taken from us. None of us, she thought, wants the world we know to come to an end; we do not want familiar things to be taken from us.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: People stuck by others for years and years, in the face of all odds, and it should be relief, not disbelief, that one felt on witnessing it. People stuck by others for years and years, in the face of all odds, and it should be relief, not disbelief, that one felt on witnessing it.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: No plaque reminds the passer-by of these glories, although there should be one; for those who invent biscuits bring great pleasure to many. No plaque reminds the passer-by of these glories, although there should be one; for those who invent biscuits bring great pleasure to many.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: What is one thing today becomes quite another thing tomorrow. What is one thing today becomes quite another thing tomorrow.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: I'd like to be tidy, said Hen, I try, but I guess you can't be what you aren't. I'd like to be tidy, said Hen, I try, but I guess you can't be what you aren't.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: A society that undermined its teachers and their authority only dug away at its own sure foundations. A society that undermined its teachers and their authority only dug away at its own sure foundations.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: The new lover, of a few weeks standing, may seem more precious than friends of decades. The new lover, of a few weeks standing, may seem more precious than friends of decades.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: Why, she asked herself, why keep a wound open when forgiveness can close it? Why, she asked herself, why keep a wound open when forgiveness can close it?
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: Simple questionsand simple answerswere what we needed in life. That was what Mma Ramotswe believed. Yes. Simple questions
and simple answers
were what we needed in life. That was what Mma Ramotswe believed. Yes.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: Talking about pumpkins doesn't make them grow. Talking about pumpkins doesn't make them grow.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: It's so difficult to sustain a fatwa,' said Domenica. 'One has to be so enthusiastic. I'm not sure if I could find the moral energy myself. It's so difficult to sustain a fatwa,' said Domenica. 'One has to be so enthusiastic. I'm not sure if I could find the moral energy myself.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: Well, that's the important thing, isn't it, Mma? To feel happiness, and then to remember it. Well, that's the important thing, isn't it, Mma? To feel happiness, and then to remember it.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: Self-pity does not appreciate pedantry. Self-pity does not appreciate pedantry.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: that weddings are far more than marriage ceremonies; we know that they are occasions for family stock-taking and catharsis; that that weddings are far more than marriage ceremonies; we know that they are occasions for family stock-taking and catharsis; that
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: He agreed with David Hockney that an artist really had to be able to draw before anything else could be achieved. He agreed with David Hockney that an artist really had to be able to draw before anything else could be achieved.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: It is sometimes easier to be happy if you don't know everything. It is sometimes easier to be happy if you don't know everything.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: It was all very well occupying the moral high ground on electoral reform, but what really mattered, she thought, was how you treated your mother. It was all very well occupying the moral high ground on electoral reform, but what really mattered, she thought, was how you treated your mother.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: The recipe for each child is just for that child, even if it is the same mother and father. The recipe for each child is just for that child, even if it is the same mother and father.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: Painters aren't expected to paint bleak pictures, are they? Painters aren't expected to paint bleak pictures, are they?
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: That, said Isabel, is the most painful feature of lost love. you wonder what the other person is doing. Right at this moment. What is he/she doing? That, said Isabel, is the most painful feature of lost love. you wonder what the other person is doing. Right at this moment. What is he/she doing?
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: It was a voice that you felt you had to listen to - or you ignored at your peril. It was a voice that you felt you had to listen to - or you ignored at your peril.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: A kind word, a word of encouragement or admiration, could shift the heaviest, most recalcitrant baggage. A kind word, a word of encouragement or admiration, could shift the heaviest, most recalcitrant baggage.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: Dogs are in on our human silliness; lions are not. Dogs are in on our human silliness; lions are not.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: There is a tidal wave of ignorance, Mma Ramotswe. It is a great tidal wave and it will drown all of us if we are not careful. There is a tidal wave of ignorance, Mma Ramotswe. It is a great tidal wave and it will drown all of us if we are not careful.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: Do not take on a traditionally built person unless you are prepared for a heavyweight bout. Do not take on a traditionally built person unless you are prepared for a heavyweight bout.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: International business, once allowed to stalk uncontrolled, killed the local, the small, the quirky. International business, once allowed to stalk uncontrolled, killed the local, the small, the quirky.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: Small things may be important to us; to be a sometime anything is sometimes something. Small things may be important to us; to be a sometime anything is sometimes something.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: Self-doubt was a luxury, as, perhaps, was the examined life. And yet the examined life, as the adage had it, was the only life worth living. Self-doubt was a luxury, as, perhaps, was the examined life. And yet the examined life, as the adage had it, was the only life worth living.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: If people have ghosts, then why shouldn't other things have them? What makes us so special that only we can have ghosts? If people have ghosts, then why shouldn't other things have them? What makes us so special that only we can have ghosts?
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: And yet, she suddenly wondered, should you actually lie about how much Proust you've read? And yet, she suddenly wondered, should you actually lie about how much Proust you've read?
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: There were two classes of persons upon whom a duty of virtually absolute confidentiality rested: doctors and lovers. There were two classes of persons upon whom a duty of virtually absolute confidentiality rested: doctors and lovers.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: You simply could not help everybody; but you could at least help those who came into your life. You simply could not help everybody; but you could at least help those who came into your life.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: Most people had something in their lives that was particularly important to them. Most people had something in their lives that was particularly important to them.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: There are many more kind people than not-so-kind people, said Mma Ramotswe. There are many more kind people than not-so-kind people, said Mma Ramotswe.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: Words can make big things little, you know. Words can make big things little, you know.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: It was all a question of face, she decided: you had to leave room for face to be saved. It was all a question of face, she decided: you had to leave room for face to be saved.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: If you lose sight of the smaller accomplishments, you end up with an imbalance in your life. If you lose sight of the smaller accomplishments, you end up with an imbalance in your life.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: We are very keen to disapprove. We are very keen to disapprove.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: There was a distinction between lying and telling half-truths, but it was a very narrow one. There was a distinction between lying and telling half-truths, but it was a very narrow one.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: All the good things that we have in life are on temporary loan, at best, and can be taken away from us in an instant. All the good things that we have in life are on temporary loan, at best, and can be taken away from us in an instant.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: You do not have to ladle on the impasto to make a point about human frailty or ambitions. You do not have to ladle on the impasto to make a point about human frailty or ambitions.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: Believe me, there's nothing more brittle than human beauty. Encounter it. Savour it, by all means. Then watch how it turns to dust. Believe me, there's nothing more brittle than human beauty. Encounter it. Savour it, by all means. Then watch how it turns to dust.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: most dogs seemed contented enough, and often seemed rather happier than the humans attached to them. most dogs seemed contented enough, and often seemed rather happier than the humans attached to them.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: There is room in history for all of us. There is room in history for all of us.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: People did not spend enough time sitting and talking, she thought, and it was important that sitting and talking time be preserved. People did not spend enough time sitting and talking, she thought, and it was important that sitting and talking time be preserved.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: Distant wrongs, she thought: an interesting issue in moral philosophy. Do past wrongs seem less wrong to us simply because they are less vivid? Distant wrongs, she thought: an interesting issue in moral philosophy. Do past wrongs seem less wrong to us simply because they are less vivid?
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: Insincerity had never come easily to her, but good manners required it on occasion, even if a superhuman effort was needed. Insincerity had never come easily to her, but good manners required it on occasion, even if a superhuman effort was needed.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: None of us is immune to shipwreck. Come, beckons the fatal shore: come and die on my white sands, it said. And we do. None of us is immune to shipwreck. Come, beckons the fatal shore: come and die on my white sands, it said. And we do.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: Anger, Obed Ramotswe had explained to her once, is no more than a salt that we rub into our wounds. Anger, Obed Ramotswe had explained to her once, is no more than a salt that we rub into our wounds.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: I think that the measure of whether a life has been a good one is how much love there has been in that lifelove both given and received. I think that the measure of whether a life has been a good one is how much love there has been in that life
love both given and received.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: But he'll never be fully recognised, because Scots literature these days is all about complaining and moaning and being injured in one's soul. But he'll never be fully recognised, because Scots literature these days is all about complaining and moaning and being injured in one's soul.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: Everything, thought Mama Ramotswe, has been something before. Everything, thought Mama Ramotswe, has been something before.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: But we are all fortunate in one way or another. The task for most of us is to identify in what way that is, would you not agree? But we are all fortunate in one way or another. The task for most of us is to identify in what way that is, would you not agree?
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: Sir Seretse Khama, Sir Seretse Khama,
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: That my philosophy of life is, as far as possible, one of enjoyment. I'm not nihilistic. That my philosophy of life is, as far as possible, one of enjoyment. I'm not nihilistic.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: Do not be ashamed to cry, Rra," said Mma Ramotswe. "It is the way that things begin to get better. It is the first step. Do not be ashamed to cry, Rra," said Mma Ramotswe. "It is the way that things begin to get better. It is the first step.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: It's through the small things that we develop our moral imagination, so that we can understand the sufferings of others. It's through the small things that we develop our moral imagination, so that we can understand the sufferings of others.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: I have three older sisters, so we were a reasonably large family and, in general, a happy one. I have three older sisters, so we were a reasonably large family and, in general, a happy one.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: As a writer, you have to realize that people want to like the characters, so you have to be careful to keep them involved. As a writer, you have to realize that people want to like the characters, so you have to be careful to keep them involved.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: We all have people in our lives we don't really choose as friends but with whom we're, well, lumbered, I suppose. Heart-sink friends. We all have people in our lives we don't really choose as friends but with whom we're, well, lumbered, I suppose. Heart-sink friends.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: Portraiture has its risks, and I suppose a dissident Free Presbyterian fatwa is one of them. Portraiture has its risks, and I suppose a dissident Free Presbyterian fatwa is one of them.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: There are so many things we take in subconsciously and are unaware we ever saw. There is plenty of lumber like that in our minds. There are so many things we take in subconsciously and are unaware we ever saw. There is plenty of lumber like that in our minds.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: That young man will go far, she said. I don't know in what direction, but he will go far. That young man will go far, she said. I don't know in what direction, but he will go far.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: There was no need for words, for there are times when words can only hint at what the heart would wish to say. There was no need for words, for there are times when words can only hint at what the heart would wish to say.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: ... people decided what they thought and would not be moved, not even by the most patient, the most rational argument. ... people decided what they thought and would not be moved, not even by the most patient, the most rational argument.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: This is a city of shifting light, of changing skies, of sudden vistas. A city so beautiful it breaks the heart again and again. This is a city of shifting light, of changing skies, of sudden vistas. A city so beautiful it breaks the heart again and again.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: It was always disconcerting to meet those who had become so obsessed with a single topic that they could not see their concerns in context. It was always disconcerting to meet those who had become so obsessed with a single topic that they could not see their concerns in context.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: Was particularly hard for women now, when there were so many children left without Was particularly hard for women now, when there were so many children left without
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: Violins sang, brass crowed, while bassoons, she felt, rumbled according to a Richter scale all of their own. Charlie Violins sang, brass crowed, while bassoons, she felt, rumbled according to a Richter scale all of their own. Charlie
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: But who doesn't have a lot of unread books? It's nice, though, to know they are there. But who doesn't have a lot of unread books? It's nice, though, to know they are there.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: None of us knows how we will cope with snakes until the moment arises, and then most of us find out that we do not do it very well. None of us knows how we will cope with snakes until the moment arises, and then most of us find out that we do not do it very well.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: The wider your readership, the greater the chances of offending your readers. The wider your readership, the greater the chances of offending your readers.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: She's sociopathic. She will have no moral compunction in doing whatever is in her interests. It's as simple as that. She's sociopathic. She will have no moral compunction in doing whatever is in her interests. It's as simple as that.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: The size of one's house might bear a relationship to the size of one's opinion of oneself, but it had nothing to do with one's real worth. The size of one's house might bear a relationship to the size of one's opinion of oneself, but it had nothing to do with one's real worth.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: A life without moments of unhappiness would be monotonous, I would have thought. A life without moments of unhappiness would be monotonous, I would have thought.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: When you allow people to do what they wish, then that is what they do. They stop doing the things they need to do. When you allow people to do what they wish, then that is what they do. They stop doing the things they need to do.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: Special things have a way of surviving. Special things have a way of surviving.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: The night is a very bad time for questions to which there are no answers." Mr Badule looked at her. "You are very right, my sister. There is The night is a very bad time for questions to which there are no answers." Mr Badule looked at her. "You are very right, my sister. There is
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: Remember that, she said to herself; remember that in your dealings with others - they may be dying. Remember that, she said to herself; remember that in your dealings with others - they may be dying.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: The telling of a story, like virtually everything in this life, was always made all the easier by a cup of tea. The telling of a story, like virtually everything in this life, was always made all the easier by a cup of tea.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: A nudist? In Edinburgh? Does he realise what parallel we're on? A nudist? In Edinburgh? Does he realise what parallel we're on?
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: Oh I love gadgets and I pride myself on keeping at the cutting edge of technology. Oh I love gadgets and I pride myself on keeping at the cutting edge of technology.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: There are so many ways of falling off the high moral ground you've carefully built up for yourself. Moral ground is like that - slippery at the edges. There are so many ways of falling off the high moral ground you've carefully built up for yourself. Moral ground is like that - slippery at the edges.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: You did not squeeze hands when you lied; it could not be done. You did not squeeze hands when you lied; it could not be done.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: IF EITHER OF THEM had felt tetchy, the concert put them both in a good mood. IF EITHER OF THEM had felt tetchy, the concert put them both in a good mood.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: There are broad shoulders, the saying went, even where there are no broad shoulders. There are broad shoulders, the saying went, even where there are no broad shoulders.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: The danger, of course, is that we spend time imagining that we would be happier elsewhere, and forget to cultivate happiness where fate has placed us. The danger, of course, is that we spend time imagining that we would be happier elsewhere, and forget to cultivate happiness where fate has placed us.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: Lions walk on four legs," observed Mma Makutsi. "Was this man walking on four legs? That can be a big giveaway, Mma. Lions walk on four legs," observed Mma Makutsi. "Was this man walking on four legs? That can be a big giveaway, Mma.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: But don't we often lie to people we love, or not tell them things, precisely because we love them? But don't we often lie to people we love, or not tell them things, precisely because we love them?
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: Morality is for everyone and that is what Morality is for everyone and that is what
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: The fear of what might happen in the future is almost always worse than the future that eventually arrives. The fear of what might happen in the future is almost always worse than the future that eventually arrives.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: were in need of bodywork. It had always amused were in need of bodywork. It had always amused
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: The sound of the kettle boiling was in itself the sound of normality, of reason, the sound of a fight back against the sadness of things. The sound of the kettle boiling was in itself the sound of normality, of reason, the sound of a fight back against the sadness of things.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: Telling a person with toothache that there are others with greater toothache than their own was no help at all. Telling a person with toothache that there are others with greater toothache than their own was no help at all.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: Tolerance was like one of those soothing creams - it drew out inflammation, it did away with the pain. Tolerance was like one of those soothing creams - it drew out inflammation, it did away with the pain.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: This tea is for people who really appreciate tea. Ordinary tea is for anyone. This tea is for people who really appreciate tea. Ordinary tea is for anyone.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: You can't deceive your own mother. That's the one person, the only one, to whom you will always be transparent. You can't deceive your own mother. That's the one person, the only one, to whom you will always be transparent.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: Sometimes the people who were closest to you were also those who were furthest away. Sometimes the people who were closest to you were also those who were furthest away.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: That was the trouble with people in general: they were surprisingly unrealistic in their expectations. That was the trouble with people in general: they were surprisingly unrealistic in their expectations.
Alexander McCall Smith quotes: Perhaps this was a concomitant of freedom: if people were free, then some of them, at least, would be free of the constraints of good taste. Perhaps Perhaps this was a concomitant of freedom: if people were free, then some of them, at least, would be free of the constraints of good taste. Perhaps

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