Wilbur Smith Quotes

Quotes about:

• It was this same Jesus, the Christ who, among many other remarkable things, said and repeated something which, proceeding from any other being would have condemned him at once as either a bloated egotist or a dangerously unbalanced person...when He said He himself would rise again from the dead, the third day after He was crucified, He said something that only a fool would dare say, if he expected longer the devotion of any disciples-unless He was sure He was going to rise. No founder of any world religion known to men ever dared say a thing like that!

  Wilbur Smith

  Jesus, Men, World Religions

  49 Copy quote

• It's a strange paradox that a man gifted with too many talents can fritter them all away without developing a single one to its full.

  Wilbur Smith

  Men, Strange, Talent

  Wilbur Smith (2008). “Rage”, p.239, Pan Macmillan

  30 Copy quote

• When I vacate this sack of old bones I won't care what you do with it. Bury or burn it but don't make much fuss.

  Wilbur Smith

  Care, Bones

  15 Copy quote

• I write my books in my head, and not in a specific study with a view. The view is from my inner eyes.

  Wilbur Smith

  Book, Writing, Eye

  26 Copy quote

• It's probably true that everyone has a book in them, although it may not be a very good one.

  Wilbur Smith

  Book, May, Very Good

  18 Copy quote

• A man follows the path laid out for him. He does his duty to God and his King. He does what he must do, not what pleases him. God's truth, boy, what kind of world would this be if every man did what pleased him alone? Who would plough the fields and reap the harvest, if every man had the right to say, 'I don't want to do that.' In this world there is a place for every man, but every man must know his place.

  Wilbur Smith

  Kings, Men, Boys

  17 Copy quote

• Failure makes success so much sweeter, and allows you to thumb your nose at the crowds.

  Wilbur Smith

  Failure, Noses, Thumbs

  Interview for Live magazine, the Mail on Sunday (UK) newspaper, December 5, 2010.

  17 Copy quote

• I think one of the most poignant things is unrequited love and loneliness.

  Wilbur Smith

  Loneliness, Unrequited Love, Thinking

  16 Copy quote

• Sometimes it is best for men not to attempt to interfere with destiny. Our prayers can be answered in ways which we do not expect and do not welcome.

  Wilbur Smith

  Prayer, Destiny, Men

  Wilbur Smith (2014). “River God: A Novel of Ancient Egypt”, p.418, St. Martin's Griffin

  11 Copy quote

• You know that feeling when you finish a final exam and you think, 'I never want to do that again'? Well I have the same feeling when I finish a novel. Each time I say, 'I think I may retire now' and then after six months the ideas start to churn again. I could never stop.

  Wilbur Smith

  Thinking, Ideas, Feelings

  4 Copy quote

• Litigation only makes lawyers fat.

  Wilbur Smith

  Law, Lawyer, Fats

  13 Copy quote

• History is a river that never ends. Today is history, and I am here at the fountainhead.

  Wilbur Smith

  Rivers, Today, Fountainhead

  Wilbur Smith (2008). “Rage”, p.238, Pan Macmillan

  4 Copy quote

• beware of your most implacable enemy-yourself.

  Wilbur Smith

  Enemy

  Wilbur Smith (2008). “The Leopard Hunts in Darkness”, p.30, Pan Macmillan

  4 Copy quote

• I go on a hunting safari at least once a year to Botswana, which is fantastic because we have a huge area of wilderness entirely to ourselves. My island covers roughly 55 acres, which again I have to myself, with nearly half a kilometre of private beach with my own jetties and boats.

  Wilbur Smith

  Beach, Hunting, Islands

  12 Copy quote

• I wanted to be a great white hunter, a prospector for gold, or a slave trader. But then, when I was eight, my parents sent me to a boarding school in South Africa. It was the equivalent of a British public school with cold showers, beatings and rotten food. But what it also had was a library full of books.

  Wilbur Smith

  Book, School, Eight

  9 Copy quote

• They do say that socialism is the ideal philosophy-just as long as you have capitalists to pay for it.

  Wilbur Smith

  Philosophy, Long, Pay

  Wilbur Smith (2008). “The Leopard Hunts in Darkness”, p.105, Pan Macmillan

  17 Copy quote

• Cape Town's beaches are superb and while the water on the Atlantic side is damn cold, it's very pleasant on the other side. Bring your golf clubs if you play - Cape Town has some fabulous golf courses.

  Wilbur Smith

  Beach, Golf, Play

  15 Copy quote

• Write for yourself, not for a perceived audience. If you do, you'll mostly fall flat on your face, because it's impossible to judge what people want. And you have to read. That's how you learn what is good writing and what is bad. Then the main thing is application. It's hard work.

  Wilbur Smith

  Fall, Hard Work, Writing

  8 Copy quote

• I read all of Rider Haggard's books. For me he had the romance of Africa with a little bit of mysticism. I'm delighted to be looked on as his heir and be categorised as an adventure novelist because that's exactly what I am.

  Wilbur Smith

  Book, Adventure, Romance

  7 Copy quote

• Politicians all over the world cater to domestic vote banks. They will spend only on what their constituents want. So unless there is a grass root green movement in a nation the politicians will not be willing to spend money on curbing emissions. More awareness is needed amongst the people to effect the real change in how governments spend.

  Wilbur Smith

  Real, Roots, Government

  9 Copy quote

• Quite frankly, I think political correctness is the worst form of censorship. You're not allowed to speak your mind unless you're black, or unless you're a terrorist, or unless you're an Arab or a minority people. Then you can say what you like. But if you are like a lot of us you are not supposed to say certain things.

  Wilbur Smith

  Thinking, Speak Your Mind, People

  "Biography/ Personal Quotes". www.imdb.com.

  5 Copy quote

• What I like about writing is the sense of godlike power it gives you.

  Wilbur Smith

  Writing, Giving, Godlike

  "Biography/ Personal Quotes". www.imdb.com.

  4 Copy quote

• My first novel was rejected by some of the most eminent publishers in the world. Starting again was a real wrench.

  Wilbur Smith

  Real, World, Firsts

  "Wilbur Smith, author - portrait of the artist". Interview with Laura Barnett, www.theguardian.com. January 15, 2013.

  4 Copy quote

• I put my soul into every book I write.

  Wilbur Smith

  Book, Writing, Soul

  4 Copy quote

• Authors can only soft sell the environment. Create a wonderful story around the environment involving the characters that leaves a lasting impression on the reader's mind.

  Wilbur Smith

  Character, Mind, Lasting Impressions

  4 Copy quote

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