Pratchett, Terry -- Discworld No. 2, The Light Fantastic (1986)

Dave — Sat, 08 Nov 2025 00:06:40 +0000

The trouble with unimaginable horrors was that they were only too easy to imagine …

Terry Pratchett (1948-2015) English author
Discworld No. 2, The Light Fantastic (1986)
(Source)

Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Sr. -- Article (1860-01), “The Professor’s Story [Elsie Venner],” ch. 2, Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 5, No. 27

Dave — Wed, 26 May 2010 15:15:44 +0000

When a resolute young fellow steps up to the great bully, the World, and takes him boldly by the beard, he is often surprised to find it comes off in his hand, and that it was only tied on to scare away the timid adventurers.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809-1894) American poet, essayist, scholar
Article (1860-01), “The Professor’s Story [Elsie Venner],” ch. 2, Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 5, No. 27
(Source)

Originally serialized as “The Professor’s Story,” but collected as the novel Elsie Venner, ch. 2 (1861).

Often misattributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson.

WIST Quotations

Pratchett, Terry -- Discworld No. 2, The Light Fantastic (1986)

Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Sr. -- Article (1860-01), “The Professor’s Story [Elsie Venner],” ch. 2, Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 5, No. 27