“A child cannot pay for its mother’s milk.”
Source: Things Fall Apart
Filter quotes by topic
Famous Chinua Achebe Quotes
Source: Things Fall Apart
Source: Things Fall Apart
“A man who makes trouble for others is also making trouble for himself.”
“An angry man is always a stupid man.”
Source: Anthills of the Savannah
“Whenever you see a toad jumping in broad daylight, then know that something is after its life.”
Source: Things Fall Apart
“The sun will shine on those who stand before it shines on those who kneel under them.”
Source: Things Fall Apart
“Wisdom is like a goatskin bag; every man carries his own.”
Source: Arrow of God
“When a mad man walks naked, it is his kinsmen who feel shame, not himself.”
Source: A Man of the People
“A goat does not eat into a hen's stomach no matter how friendly the two may be.”
Source: A Man of the People
“A man of worth never gets up to unsay what he said yesterday.”
Source: A Man of the People
“A disease that has never been seen before cannot be cured with every-day herbs.”
Source: Arrow of God
Source: Arrow of God
Source: No Longer at Ease
“When a new saying gets to the land of empty men, they lose their heads over it.”
Source: No Longer at Ease
“Travellers with closed minds can tell us little except about themselves”
Source: Hopes and impediments: selected essays
“If a child washed his hands, he could eat with kings.”
Source: Things Fall Apart
“Let the kite perch and let the eagle perch too – If one says no to the other, let his wing break.”
Source: Things Fall Apart
“Nigeria is what it is because its leaders are not what they should be.”
“A man who does not lick his lips, can he blame the harmattan for drying them?”
Source: Hopes and impediments: selected essays
“When brothers fight to death a stranger inherit their father’s estate”
“A man who lived on the banks of the Niger should not wash his hands with spittle.”
Source: No Longer at Ease
“There is nothing to fear from someone who shouts.”
Source: Things Fall Apart
“My son even if you want to fall, at least fall where your bones can be gathered”
Source: Arrow of God
“A boy sent by his father to steal does not go stealthily but breaks the door with his feet.”
Source: Arrow of God
“What a man does not know is greater than he.”
Source: Arrow of God
Source: Arrow of God
“When we hear a house has fallen do we ask if the ceiling fell with it?”
Source: Arrow of God
“He is a fool who treats his brother worse than a stranger.”
Source: Arrow of God
“The language of young men is pull down and destroy; but an old man speaks of conciliation.”
Source: Arrow of God
“Every lizard lies on its belly, so we cannot tell which has a belly-ache”
Source: The African Trilogy: Things Fall Apart; Arrow of God; No Longer at Ease
Source: Hopes and impediments: selected essays
Source: The Trouble with Nigeria
“Serious and good art has always existed to help, to serve, humanity. Not to indict.”