We cannot trample upon the humanity of others without devaluing our own. The Igbo, always practical, put it concretely in their proverb Onye ji onye n'ani ji onwe ya: 'He who will hold another down in the mud must stay in the mud to keep him down.' Chinua Achebe More Quotes by Chinua Achebe More Quotes From Chinua Achebe In dealing with a man who thinks you are a fool, it is good sometimes to remind him that you know what he knows but have chosen to appear foolish for the sake of peace. Chinua Achebe thought-provoking men thinking A man who calls his kinsmen to a feast does not do so to save them from starving. They all have food in their own homes. When we gather together in the moonlit village ground it is not because of the moon. Every man can see it in his own compound. We come together because it is good for kinsmen to do so. Chinua Achebe moon home men There is that great proverb — that until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter. Chinua Achebe historian hunters lions Nobody can teach me who I am. You can describe parts of me, but who I am - and what I need - is something I have to find out myself. Chinua Achebe thought-provoking who-i-am needs People say that if you find water rising up to your ankle, that's the time to do something about it, not when it's around your neck. Chinua Achebe rising-up water people The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart. Chinua Achebe brother clever fall The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership. There is nothing basically wrong with the Nigerian land or climate or water or air or anything else. The Nigerian problem is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the responsibility, to the challenge of personal example which are the hallmarks of true leadership. Chinua Achebe land responsibility air A man of worth never gets up to unsay what he said yesterday. Chinua Achebe thought-provoking yesterday men Become familiar with your home, but know also about your neighbors. The young man who never went anywhere thinks his mother is the greatest cook. Chinua Achebe mother home men Mosquito [...] had asked Ear to marry him, whereupon Ear fell on the floor in uncontrollable laughter. "How much longer do you think you will live?" she asked. "You are already a skeleton." Mosquito went away humiliated, and any time he passed her way he told Ear that he was still alive. Chinua Achebe skeletons laughter thinking If you only hear one side of the story, you have no understanding at all. Chinua Achebe understanding stories sides Every generation must recognize and embrace the task it is peculiarly designed by history and by providence to perform. Chinua Achebe embrace generations tasks As long as one people sit on another and are deaf to their cry, so long will understanding and peace elude all of us. Chinua Achebe diversity justice long To answer oppression with appropriate resistance requires knowledge of two kinds: in the first place, self-knowledge by the victim, which means awareness that oppression exists, an awareness that the victim has fallen from a great height of glory or promise into the present depths; secondly, the victim must know who the enemy is. He must know his oppressor's real name, not an alias, a pseudonym, or a nom de plume! Chinua Achebe real names mean When brothers fight to death a stranger inherit their father’s estate Chinua Achebe fighting brother father One of the truest tests of integrity is its blunt refusal to be compromised. Chinua Achebe stupid integrity reality The damage done in one year can sometimes take ten or twenty years to repair. Chinua Achebe thought-provoking reality years Man is sitting disconsolate on an anthill one morning. God asks him what the matter is and man replies that the soil is too swampy for the cultivation of the yams which God has directed him to grow. God tells him to bring in a blacksmith to dry the soil with his bellows. The contribution of humanity to this creation is so important. God could have made the world perfect if he had wanted. But he made it the way it is. So that there is a constant need for us to discuss and cooperate to make it more habitable, so the soil can yield, you see. Chinua Achebe yield morning men The world is like a Mask dancing. If you want to see it well, you do not stand in one place. Chinua Achebe dancing want world The world is large,” said Okonkwo. “I have even heard that in some tribes a man’s children belong to his wife and her family.” “That cannot be,” said Machi. “You might as well say that the woman lies on top of the man when they are making the babies. Chinua Achebe baby lying children
