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| Link | Quote | Stars | Tags | Author |
| dbef1c3 | one should not crow over the defeat even of those who richly deserve to be defeated. That was dangerous, because then you yourself might get what you deserve for revelling in the misfortunes of another. | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| ecdc51f | Do not be afraid of people who lurk in the shadows. Stand up for what you believe in. The people in the shadows are no match for people who are not afraid of light. | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| 509afb6 | Be very careful of anything that looks too good to be true. Because if it looks too good to be true, that's probably because that's exactly what it is! | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| 41239ee | You should have seen him," she said. "A real ladies' man. Stuff in his hair. Dark glasses. Fancy shoes. He had no idea how funny he looked. I much prefer men with ordinary shoes and honest trousers." | honesty men | Alexander McCall Smith | |
| a235851 | Such men knew their worth, but did not flaunt it. Such men could look anybody in the eye without flinching; even a poor man, a man with nothing, could stand upright in the presence of those who had wealth or power. People did not know, Mma Ramotswe felt, just how much we had in those days--those days when we seemed to have so little, we had so much. She | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| 2cb7190 | Mr. Polopetsi is such a...such a modest man, even perhaps a bit mousy." She transferred her gaze to Mma Ramotswe. "Not that I want to be rude, Mma." | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| ef713d1 | and Mma Potokwane remained uncertain whether Mma Ramotswe was testate or intestate. | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| 4a282f6 | I think it's best for us to face up to our own mistakes," she" | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| 53ba223 | Mma Ramotswe had been understanding. Men who sired children and then failed to accept responsibility for them were anathema to her, and she reserved particular disapproval for those who then completely disappeared. She | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| 38a85d2 | there was something that Isabel had said that always stuck in his mind. Remember what you have and the other person doesn't. It was simple--almost too simple--advice and yet, like all such home advice, it expressed a profound truth. | kindness | Alexander McCall Smith | |
| b74e3a1 | He smiled as he imagined the composite Jamie/Isabel, who would play the bassoon, read philosophy, interfere in other people's affairs rather too much, drive a green Swedish car and make legendary potatoes Dauphinoise. | relationships | Alexander McCall Smith | |
| e1e4a53 | He evidently did not care that they were in full view of a cluster of dog-owners walking their dogs. He stopped and took her in his arms, kissing her passionately and urgently. | marriage romance | Alexander McCall Smith | |
| a56816a | Waiting in the reception area, she had flicked through a news magazine that had been lying on the table for clients to read while waiting for their appointment. On the cover there had been a picture of a well-known politician, a man famous for his rudeness and aggression. She had looked at the eyes--the piercing, accusing eyes, and had seen only an impenetrable, defensive anger. Nothing--no forced smiles nor rehearsed protestation of concer.. | eyes personality politicians | Alexander McCall Smith | |
| 92fe0aa | And then," continued the clerk, "they send those students out at the end of their course and say, 'Go off and use those big words and long sentences to get all the good, high-paying jobs. And once you're in those jobs, always remember to use long sentences to protect your position. If you use long sentences, nobody will dare remove you. That is an important rule that we have worked out.' That is what they say, Mma--I have heard it on very g.. | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| b4d494b | He is a good man, but even a good man can fall for a glamorous woman. That is well known." "That is very well known," agreed Mma Ramotswe. "Look at Adam. Look how he fell for Eve." "Just because she had no clothes on, he fell for her," said Mma Makutsi. "That sometimes helps," said Mma Ramotswe." | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| 9c19d07 | A kind word, a word of encouragement or admiration, could shift the heaviest, most recalcitrant baggage. | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| a004101 | 'You can't read everything. I've never got beyond the beginning of Proust. I love him, but I can't seem to get beyond about page three.' They were comfortable in each other's company, and this confession seemed to accentuate the ease of their relationship. The confession itself was not entirely true; Isabel had read more Proust than that, but other people undoubtedly found it reassuring to think that one had only read a few pages. Certainly.. | lie politicians proust | Alexander McCall Smith | |
| 9c7babb | Without delay," echoed Charlie. "Those are very good words, I think. Without delay. Please will you pay my bill without delay. Please leave without delay. Please improve your attitude without delay..." Mma Makutsi shot Charlie a" | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| b74de81 | Why do you ask that dog if he has a soul?" Mma Ramotswe sighed. "It's very complicated, Rra. You see...Well, you see: Mma Makutsi said dogs were just meat inside. Those were her actual words." "She's wrong," he said. "I think so. I" | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| 78c3152 | Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni," she asked, "do you think that our souls grow as we get older?" He did not answer immediately, but when he did, she thought his answer quite perfect. "Yes," he said. "Our souls get wider. They grow like the branches of a tree--growing outwards. And" | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| 369004a | A dog sees no point in dwelling on things that have happened; the important thing is that they are not happening now. In that respect, they have something to teach us: we so often feel that then is now, and this leads us to prolong the suffering of yesterday into the suffering of today. Dogs do not do that. With | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| 183bea3 | that weddings are far more than marriage ceremonies; we know that they are occasions for family stock-taking and catharsis; that | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| 0606200 | However she redefined herself, that part of one that made for the core of the self, that part that we think of as the ultimate, inner being--that was ineradicable Scottish. That part spoke with a Scottish voice; that part looked out through Scottish eyes; and it was that part that now welled within her as she gazed out through the window of the descending plane and saw below her the rolling Borders hills... | love-of-country patriotism scotland | Alexander McCall Smith | |
| 03fc796 | products of soulless machines and relentless globalization... | globalization soulless | Alexander McCall Smith | |
| 20351bf | Are we facing a new Dark Age, Angus? Possibly, Lou. A dark age in which our concentration spell is this long. | dark-age new-dark-age | Alexander McCall Smith | |
| 44e9189 | He would sit down and consider the situation carefully. Not only did this help to identify the solution to the problem, but it also gave him the opportunity to remind himself that things were not really as bad as they seemed; it was all a question of perspective. Sitting down and looking up at the sky for a few minutes--not at any particular part of the sky, but just at the sky in general--at the vast, dizzying, empty sky of Botswana, cut h.. | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| b587c64 | It would be wonderful, she thought, to write a book which would help other people. | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| d25d677 | There are plenty of people who might prefer to go sideways. What about them? How are we to inspire them? | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| d71b684 | what moved me was that I had found something I didn't think could exist. And that thing - the thing that I found - was very simple. Most people know all about it and have never really doubted it because their lives have been such as to give them a glimpse of the thing that they were not sure about, which is love, of course: the sheer fact of feeling of love for another, of finding the one person - the only person, it seems - who makes the w.. | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| c7897ab | The country must be full of liars," she continued. "There must be liars around every corner. Liars hiding behind every bush. Liars just waiting to tell lies about something. Unrepentant liars. Old liars, young liars; perhaps even babies whose first word is a lie. Perhaps" | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| c60875d | Trust your nose, but make sure it's pointing in the right direction. | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| e2b2869 | the finding of a cargo of whisky was, in a sense, like the finding by the Israelites of manna in the wilderness. And | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| 9f33547 | Perhaps they could get married in heaven, if he left it too late. That would certainly be cheaper. | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| ffd23ef | people in Canada talk about feeling solitude? They sometimes call it a country of solitudes. | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| f3a1680 | that is how marriages take place. If you left it up to men, they would never get there. Nobody would be married. You have to remind men to get married. | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| f4408be | But that miracle would eventually arrive, as it always had, and the landscape would turn from brown to green within hours under the kiss of the rain. And there were other colours that would follow the green; yellows, blues, reds would appear in patches across the veld as if great cakes of dye had been crumbled and scattered by an unseen hand. | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| 862006e | It was an innocent enough activity, after all; like looking at the sky, perhaps, when the sun was going down and had made the clouds copper-red, or looking at a herd of fine cattle moving slowly over the land when rains had brought on the sweet green grass. These were pleasures which the soul needed from time to time, and she would wait for Mma Makutsi until she had examined the shoes from all angles. | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| 9637ed4 | Yes, but not in chairs that don't belong to us," countered Mma Makutsi. "That's the trouble with this country, Mma--there are too many people sitting down in other people's chairs." -- | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| 97d3009 | It was another of Mma Makutsi's odd statements--utterly unfounded in fact, Mma Ramotswe suspected, but not a point that she wished to argue. As far as she was concerned, if a chair was empty, then anybody should be welcome to sit in it. We should share our chairs, she felt. Maybe that was the real problem with the modern world--not enough of us were prepared to share our chairs. | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| 6d65132 | A woman sees more than a man sees. That is well-known. | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| bfe7ac2 | No buts, Bertie. If you don't keep your promise then you'll get into serious trouble. Big time. You could go to prison, and then what? And there's God too. God watches these things and if he sees you breaking promises he can really get you. He does it all the time. | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| aa83b31 | It is undoubtedly the case that the practice of the virtues makes one happier. We've somewhat lost sight of that essential truth, now that we, as a society, admire selfishness and vanity so much. | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| 80a9ded | He looked up from his stew. "Mma Ramotswe," he said, "you can do anything. Nothing is too hard for a person like you--nothing. You are very good at doing everything, Mma, and anything you do, Mma" | Alexander McCall Smith | ||
| f77377b | He represents innocence, and innocence has taken such a profound battering in our times. We have mocked it. We have sullied it. We have put it in intensive care, and frankly, I don't see how it can survive. And yet here and there one sees flickers of its light - just flickers. And so we know that innocence isn't entirely dead." Angus" | Alexander McCall Smith |