Philip Pullman Quotes

Cruelty, I truly believe, is the one and only sin.

A villain to me is someone who actively seeks to hurt someone or does things for his own gain.

People are ruthless, man.

Cruelty is, perhaps, the worst kid of sin. Intellectual cruelty is certainly the worst kind of cruelty.

In order to be cruel we have to close our hearts to the suffering of the other.

He would double-cross and destroy the reputation of anybody.

This man is very evil. He tried to kill my daddy!

There are people (men and women both, unfortunately) who have no good in them--none. That there are people whom it is necessary to detest without compromise. That there are people who must be dealt with as enemies of the human race. That there are people who have no human heart, and who must be crushed like savage beasts and cleared out of the way

Ruthlessness is not something that comes easily.

You can't fight if you have any compassion or anything like that.

I don't like to hurt people for fun.

Humanity is best described as inhumanity.

There are people who are dangerous, and evil is real.

They wanted to know why I did what I did. Well, sir I guess there's just meanness in the world.

Then no rightful cause was left, and the pain of anger was turning into the shameful pain of submission. He had no right to condemn anyone - he thought - to denounce anything, to fight and die joyously, claiming the sanctity of virtue. The broken promises, the unconfessed desires, the betrayal, the deceit, the lies, the fraud - he was guilty of them all. What form of corruption could he scorn? Degrees do not matter, he thought; one does not bargain about inches of evil.

No beast so fierce but knows some touch of pity. But I know none, and therefore am no beast.

Is this how you repay my goodness--with badness?” cried the boy. “Of course,” said the crocodile out of the corner of his mouth. “That is the way of the world.

I'm not cruel, sir, I won't shoot you in the guts, but I will make you realize how much you took your toes for granted.

Selfishness is the root of great evil.

The rat had no morals, no conscience, no scruples, no consideration, no decency, no milk of rodent kindness, no compunctions, no higher feeling, no friendliness, no anything

An unkind heart is the worst. It is a plague to its possessor, and a torment to those around him.

I believe that to knowingly commit actions that cause or condone suffering is reprehensible in the extreme. I call upon you to be compassionate and treat others as you want to be treated. If you don't want to be beaten, imprisoned, mutilated, killed or tortured then you shouldn't condone such behavior towards anyone, be they human or not.

There is no good in store so long as malice and jealousy and egotism will prevail.