QuoteProject
It was lonely on the hill, and cold. And all you could do was keep going. You could scream, cry, and stamp your feet, but apart from making you feel warmer, it wouldn’t do any good. You could say it was unfair, and that was true, but the universe didn’t care because it didn’t know what “fair” meant. That was the big problem about being a witch. It was up to you. It was always up to you.
Terry Pratchett
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote emphasizes personal responsibility and resilience in the face of adversity.

Terry Pratchett's quote illustrates the struggle of feeling isolated and cold, both physically and emotionally, while highlighting the importance of perseverance. It conveys that expressing frustration is natural, but ultimately it’s one's own actions and decisions that shape their experiences, as the universe operates independently of our notions of fairness. Being a witch symbolizes the greater responsibility of influencing one’s own fate.

Themes

ResilienceResponsibilityPerseveranceAdversityWitch

In practice

Example use cases

This quote is perfect for a motivational speech about overcoming challenges.

More from Terry Pratchett

And then Jack chopped down what was the world's last beanstalk, adding murder and ecological terrorism to the theft, enticement, and trespass charges already mentioned, and all the giant's children didn't have a daddy anymore. But he got away with it and lived happily ever after, without so much as a guilty twinge about what he had done...which proves that you can be excused for just about anything if you are a hero, because no one asks inconvenient questions.
Terry PratchettRead
They've got something they do it with, I think it's called a mocracy, and it means everyone in the whole country can say who the new Tyrant is. One man ... one vet. ... Everyone has ... the vet. Except for women, of course. And children. And criminals. And slaves. And stupid people. And people of foreign extraction. And people disapproved of for, er, various reasons. And lots of other people. But everyone apart from them. It's a very enlightened civilization.
Terry PratchettRead
Geography is just physics slowed down, with a couple of trees stuck in it.
Terry PratchettRead
You can't trample infidels when you're a tortoise. I mean, all you could do is give them a meaningful look.
Terry PratchettRead
Any fool could be a witch with a runic knife, but it took skill to be one with an apple corer.
Terry PratchettRead
People look down on stuff like geography and meteorology, and not only because they're standing on one and being soaked by the other. They don't look quite like real science. But geography is only physics slowed down and with a few trees stuck on it, and meteorology is full of excitingly fashionable chaos and complexity. And summer isn't a time. It's a place as well. Summer is a moving creature and likes to go south for the winter.
Terry PratchettRead

Similar quotes

Stupidity is active in every direction, and can dress up in all the clothes of truth. Truth, on the other hand, has for every occasion only one dress and one path, and is always at a disadvantage.
Robert MusilRead
Go not to the Elves for counsel,_x000D_ for they will say both no and yes._x000D_ Elves seldom give unguarded advice,_x000D_ for advice is a dangerous gift,_x000D_ even from the wise to the wise,_x000D_ and all courses may run ill.
J. R. R. TolkienRead
Hear this if you can: If you want to reach him You have to go beyond yourself And when you finally arrive at the land of absence Be silent Don’t say a thing Ecstasy, not words, is the language spoken there
RumiRead
The thought process can never be complete without articulation.
Stephen KingRead
Leisure without literature is death, or rather the burial of a living man -Otium sine litteris mors est et hominis vivi sepultura
Seneca The YoungerRead
But individuals and firms spend an enormous amount of resources acquiring information, which affects their beliefs; and actions of others too affect their beliefs.
Joseph StiglitzRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.