I find a rare depth and infinite wisdom in the words J.K. Rowling channels through her character: Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore in the globally renowned Harry Potter series.
For those of you perhaps less familiar with the Harry Potter books, Dumbledore is the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He is wise, kind and humble in more ways than one as well as a mentor and father-figure to Harry Potter, the young wizard protagonist of the series. Dumbledore is considered to be one of the most powerful wizards of his time. He is known for his defeat of Gellert Grindelwald, the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon’s blood and his work on alchemy with Nicolas Flamel. Click here for a full biography.
*Fun fact: “Dumbledore” is an old English word for bumblebee. J. K. Rowling’s explanation for the headmaster’s name is as follows: “… Albus Dumbledore is very fond of music, I always imagined him as sort of humming to himself a lot.”
Albus Dumbledore’s intelligent words and wise sayings do not just hold an important meaning in the wizarding world, but reflect a keen insight which we in our world today can learn a thing or two from. The following are my favourite quotes said by this amazing character.
- “It is our choices… that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”
- “It does not do well to dwell on dreams and forget to live.”
- “It is a curious thing, but perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who have never sought it. Those who have leadership thrust upon them, and take up the mantle because they must, and find to their own surprise that they wear it well.”
- “Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open.”
- “Do not pity the dead… Pity the living, and, above all, those who live without love.”
- “Happiness can be found in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.”
- “The truth is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution.”
- “You think the dead we loved ever truly leave us? You think we don’t recall them more clearly than ever in times of great trouble?”
- “The consequences of our actions are always so complicated, so diverse, that predicting the future is a very difficult business indeed.”
- “Curiosity is not a sin. But we should exercise caution with our curiosity yes, indeed.”
- “Humans have a knack for choosing precisely the things that are worst for them.”
- “Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself.”
- “To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.”
- “It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to your enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to your friends.”
- “Ah, music. A magic beyond all we do here!”
- “The best of us must sometimes eat our words.”
- “In dreams we enter a world that is entirely our own. Let them swim in the deepest ocean or glide over the highest cloud.”
- “We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.”