Pramoedya Ananta Toer

"Bravery for the sake of bravery is just as negative as acting arbitrarily for the sake of acting arbitrarily.They are both extravagances, nothing more."

"We all have to accept reality, yes, that's true. But just to accept reality and do nothing else, that is the attitude of human beings who have lost the ability to develop and grow, because human beings have the ability to create new realities. And if there are no longer people who want to create new realities, then perhaps the word progress should be removed altogether from humankind's vocabulary"

"Europe taught that all great men are humanity's teachers.[...] America teaches that whoever succeeds in life should be your leader. Japan teaches that a man who has many friends is a man who has mastered life and such a man is a good man."

"[She] gave us an explanation what happened when you gave in to vacillation — you become its victim. If you have to become a victim, at least do so after conquering your own hesitation"

"[...] only old branches can be broken. The young ones bend with the storm. Only the stupid ones resist."

"All the powerful are the same. It's when they start talking that they feel greatness, and even more so when they're not listening to others."

"There must be a reason, some proper grounds to attack another party because that's the European way of thinking. Not like the Asian kings - they attacked other kingdoms giving no other reason than that they wanted to be stronger than others. Europe must have a reason, even if it's just made up and isn't really true, but there must be some excuse for the action."