"The Devil & Miss Prym" (A Novel by Paulo Coelho) : 11 QUOTES

I enjoyed reading this book as I have the others. They always seem to come to me at the time I need them. Each story is different and this gives much insight on the argument of duality, good ad evil, hell and paradise... Coelho captures in one story an important question. Who is the real enemy? It was one of the very first ones I picked up and I highly recommend it. 

My favorite quotes:

• “If you want to control someone, all you have to do is to make them feel afraid.” 

• “I think that, with age, people come to realize that death is inevitable. And we need to learn to face it with serenity, wisdom and resignation. Death often frees us from a lot of senseless sufferings.” 

• “Life can seem short or life can seem long, depending on how you live it.” 

• “Anyone who loves in the expectation of being loved in return is wasting their time.” 

• “When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not yet ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back. A week is more than enough time for us to decide whether or not to accept our destiny.” 

• “In the beginning there was only a small amount of injustice abroad in the world, but everyone who came afterwards added their portion, always thinking it was very small and unimportant, and look where we have ended up today.” 

• “People want to change everything and, at the same time, want it all to remain the same.”

• “Because you believed I was capable of behaving decently, I did.” 

• “It isn’t the desire to abide by the law that makes everyone behave as society requires, but the fear of punishment.  Each one of us carries a gallows inside us.”

• “There are two kinds of idiots - those who don't take action because they have received a threat, and those who think they are taking action because they have issued a threat.” 

• “Whenever you want to achieve something, keep your eyes open, concentrate and make sure you know exactly what it is you want. No one can hit their target with their eyes closed."