Philip Pullman Quotes

born 1946 England

Philip Pullman CBE (born October 19, 1946) is an English writer. He is the best-selling author of His Dark Materials, a trilogy of fantasy novels, and a number of other books.

England
Novelists

Also known as: Phillip Pullman, His Dark Materials, Northern Lights, The Amber Spyglass, The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife

Random Philip Pullman quote

75 quotes

Human beings can’t see anything without wanting to destroy it, Lyra. That’s original sin.

Northern Lights (1995)

She felt a nausea of the soul, a hideous and sickening despair, a melancholy weariness so profound that she was going to die of it.

The Subtle Knife (1997)

The Master of Jordan College is a foolish old man. Why he gave it to her I can't imagine; you need several years of intensive study to make any sense of it at all.

The Subtle Knife (1997)

Lyra sighed; she had forgotten how roundabout Scholars could be. It was difficult to tell them the truth when a lie would have been so much easier for them to understand.

The Subtle Knife (1997)

Being a practiced liar doesn't mean you have a powerful imagination. Many good liars have no imagination at all; it's that which gives their lies such wide-eyed conviction.

Northern Lights (1995)

“We are all subject to the fates. But we must all act as if we are not,” said the witch, “or die of despair.”

Northern Lights (1995)

All these tattered old bits and pieces have a history and a meaning.

Lyra's Oxford (2003)

On, said the alethiometer. Farther, higher.
So on they climbed.

The Subtle Knife (1997)

“For a human being, nothing comes naturally,” said Grumman. “We have to learn everything we do.”

The Subtle Knife (1997)

Seems to me the place you fight cruelty is where you find it, and the place you give help is where you see it needed.

The Subtle Knife (1997)

I found folly everywhere, but there were grains of wisdom in every stream of it. No doubt there was much more wisdom that I failed to recognize.

The Subtle Knife (1997)

“That’s the duty of the old,” said the Librarian, “to be anxious on behalf of the young. And the duty of the young is to scorn the anxiety of the old.”

Northern Lights (1995)

It does not make sense. It cannot exist. It’s impossible, and if it isn’t impossible, it’s irrelevant, and if it isn’t either of those things, it’s embarrassing.

The Subtle Knife (1997)

How can I just go and sit in the library or somewhere and twiddle my thumbs, knowing what's going to happen? I don't intend to do that, I promise you.

Northern Lights (1995)

Who is this man who's got the knife?

The Subtle Knife (1997)

It's an alethiometer. It's one of only six that were ever made. Lyra, I urge you again: keep it private.

Northern Lights (1995)

And yet I respect Lewis more than I do Tolkien.

It was all very well, the alethiometer telling her to be truthful, but she knew what would happen if she told the whole truth. She had to tread carefully and just avoid direct lies.

The Subtle Knife (1997)

"And then what?" said her Dæmon sleepily "build what?"
"The Republic of Heaven."

The Amber Spyglass (2000)

Her dæmon's name was Pantalaimon, and he was currently in the form of a moth, a dark brown one so as not to show up in the darkness of the hall.

Northern Lights (1995)

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Philip Pullman (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.