Oz Quotes

“Do not, I beg of you, dampen today's sun with the showers of tomorrow.”
― L. Frank Baum, Oz: The Complete Collection

“One who is Master of himself is always a King, if only to himself.”
― L. Frank Baum, Oz: The Complete Collection

“The reason most people are bad is because they do not try to be good.”
― L. Frank Baum, Oz: The Complete Collection

“Brains are the only things worth having in this world, no matter whether one is a crow or a man.”
― L. Frank Baum, Oz: The Complete Collection

“Finally, were you all like me, I would consider you so common that I would not care to associate with you. To be individual, my friends, to be different from others, is the only way to become distinguished from the common herd. Let us be glad, therefore, that we differ from one another in form and in disposition. Variety is the spice of life, and we are various enough to enjoy one another's society; so let us be content.”
― L. Frank Baum, Oz: The Complete Collection

“Then, to their surprise, they found before them a high wall which seemed to be made of white china. It was smooth, like the surface of a dish, and higher than their heads.”
― L. Frank Baum, Oz: The Complete Collection

“There is no living thing that is not afraid when it faces danger. The True courage is in facing danger when you are afraid, and that kind of courage you have in plenty.”
― L. Frank Baum, Oz: The Complete Collection

“Well," said the Cowardly Lion, drawing a long breath of relief, "I see we are going to live a little while longer, and I am glad of it, for it must be a very uncomfortable thing not to be alive. Those creatures frightened me so badly that my heart is beating yet.”
― L. Frank Baum, Oz: The Complete Collection

“What do you know?" "Well, that is hard to tell," replied Jack. "For although I feel that I know a tremendous lot, I am not yet aware how much there is in the world to find out about. It will take me a little time to discover whether I am very wise or very foolish.”
― L. Frank Baum, Oz: The Complete Collection

“That is all that makes life worth our while—to do good deeds and to help those less fortunate than ourselves.”
― L. Frank Baum, Oz: The Complete Collection

“This is the way to get ideas: never to let adverse circumstances discourage you, but to believe there is a way out of every difficulty, which may be found by earnest thought.”
― L. Frank Baum, Oz: The Complete Collection

“But nobody can stay alive without getting into danger sometimes, and danger doesn't mean getting hurt, Cap'n; it only means we might get hurt. So I guess we'll have to take the risk.”
― L. Frank Baum, Oz: The Complete Collection

“No one knows that, except the person who's writing this story," said Shaggy. "But we won't find anything—not even supper—unless we travel on. Here's a path. Let's take it and see where it leads to.”
― L. Frank Baum, Oz: The Complete Collection

“I'm glass, and transparent, too, which is more than can be said of some folks," answered the cat. "Also I have some lovely pink brains; you can see 'em work.”
― L. Frank Baum, Oz: The Complete Collection

“Everyone loved her, but her greatest sorrow was that she could find no one to love in return, since all the men were much too stupid and ugly to mate with one so beautiful and wise.”
― L. Frank Baum, Oz: The Complete Collection

“The more one knows, the luckier he is, for knowledge is the greatest gift in life.”
― L. Frank Baum, Oz: The Complete Collection

“But I do not wish to fight," declared Ozma, firmly. "No one has the right to destroy any living creatures, however evil they may be, or to hurt them or make them unhappy.”
― L. Frank Baum, The Complete Oz

“for a fool would not know what to do with a heart if he had one.”
― L. Frank Baum, Oz: The Complete Collection

“Nonsense!" said the Emperor—but in a kindly, sympathetic tone. "Do not, I beg of you, dampen today's sun with the showers of tomorrow. For before your head has time to spoil you can have it canned, and in that way it may be preserved indefinitely.”
― L. Frank Baum, Oz: The Complete Collection

“You may have noticed that if one has money without brains, he cannot use it to advantage; but if one has brains without money, they will enable him to live comfortably to the end of his days.”
― L. Frank Baum, Oz: The Complete Collection

“The beauty of life is its sudden changes. No one knows what is going to happen next, and so we are constantly being surprised and entertained.”
― L. Frank Baum, Oz: The Complete Collection

“The Wicked Witch then made the axe slip and cut off my head, and at first I thought that was the end of me. But the tinsmith happened to come along, and he made me a new head out of tin.”
― L. Frank Baum, Oz: The Complete Collection

“You must walk. It is a long journey, through a country that is sometimes pleasant and sometimes dark and terrible.”
― L. Frank Baum, Oz: The Complete Collection

“Here's a mountain, hard of hearing,
That's sad-hearted and needs cheering,
So my duty is to listen to all sounds that Nature makes,
So the hill won't get uneasy—
Get to coughing, or get sneezy—
For this monster bump, when frightened, is quite liable to quakes.
"You can hear a bell that's ringing;
I can feel some people's singing;
But a mountain isn't sensible of what goes on, and so
When I hear a blizzard blowing
Or it's raining hard, or snowing,
I tell it to the mountain and the mountain seems to know.
"Thus I benefit all people
While I'm living on this steeple,
For I keep the mountain steady so my neighbors all may thrive.”
― L. Frank Baum, The Complete Oz

“They seemed happy and contented, though," remarked the Wizard, "and those who are contented have nothing to regret and nothing more to wish for.”
― L. Frank Baum, Oz: The Complete Collection

“The generals commanded the colonels and the colonels commanded the majors and the majors commanded the captains and the captains commanded the private, who marched with an air of proud importance because it required so many officers to give him his orders.”
― L. Frank Baum, Oz: The Complete Collection

“I have heard, my dear friend, that a person can become over-educated; and although I have a high respect for brains, no matter how they may be arranged or classified, I begin to suspect that yours are slightly tangled. In any event, I must beg you to restrain your superior education while in our society.”
― L. Frank Baum, Oz: The Complete Collection

“Do not, I beg of you, dampen today's sun with the showers of tomorrow. For before your head has time to spoil you can have it canned, and in that way it may be preserved indefinitely.”
― L. Frank Baum, Oz: The Complete Collection

“I shall take the heart," returned the Tin Woodman; "for brains do not make one happy, and happiness is the best thing in the world.”
― L. Frank Baum, Oz: The Complete Collection

“No, my head is quite empty," answered the Woodman. "But once I had brains, and a heart also; so, having tried them both, I should much rather have a heart.”
― L. Frank Baum, Oz: The Complete Collection