Quotes by Octavia E. Butler

“Consider--We are bornNot with purpose,But with potential.”

“There must be good marriages somewhere, but to me, marriage had the feel of people tolerating each other, enduring each other because they were afraid to be alone or because each was a habit that t...”

“There is nothing new under the sun, but there are new suns.”

“Beware:Ignorance Protects itself.IgnorancePromotes suspicion.SuspicionEngenders fear.Fear quails,Irrational and blind,Or fear looms,Defiant and closed.Blind, closed,Suspicious, afraid,IgnoranceProt...”

“All that you touchYou Change.All that you ChangeChanges you.The only lasting truthis Change.Godis Change.”

“God is Change.Earthseed: The Books of the LivingLauren Oya Olamina”

“In order to rise from its own ashes, a Phoenix first must burn.”

“People have the right to call themselves whatever they like. That doesn't bother me. It's other people doing the calling that bothers me.”

“First forget inspiration. Habit is more dependable. Habit will sustain you whether you're inspired or not. Habit will help you finish and polish your stories. Inspiration won't. Habit is persistenc...”

“You don't start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it's good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it. That's why I say one of the most valuable traits is persist...”

“I just knew there were stories I wanted to tell.”

“I began writing about power because I had so little.”

“Power came the way a child came -- with agony.”

“Your teachersAre all around you.All that you perceive,All that you experience,All that is given to youor taken from you,All that you love or hate,need or fearWill teach you--If you will learn.God i...”

“Was an eternity of absolute ease just another name for hell?”

“Let them see that you trust them & let them solve their own problems, make their own decisions.Do that & they will commit their lives to you. Bully the, control them out of fear or malice or just f...”

“Prayers only help the person doing the praying, and then, only if they strengthen and focus that person's resolve.”

“Read every day and learn from what you read.”

“Everything is so soft here,' he said, 'so easy...' 'I know”

“Intelligence is ongoing, individual adaptability. Adaptations that an intelligent species may make in a single generation, other species make over many generations of selective breeding and selecti...”