Wisdom from Wonderland

My mother gave me a leather-bound copy of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland when I was six years old. I fell in love with that book, and John Tenniel’s beautiful illustrations. I read it from cover to cover, over and over again, and definitely did not understand any of the subtext. Recently, upon downloading a free ebook version I re-‘kindled’ (ha!) my friendship with Alice and the gang. They really do have much to teach the world. Here are some of my favourite lines from the book.

We called him Tortoise because he taught us. – The Mock Turtle

Reeling and Writhing, of course, to begin with, and then the different branches of arithmetic - Ambition, Distraction, Uglification, and Derision. – The Mock Turtle

There's a large mustard-mine near here. And the moral of that is: The more there is of mine, the less there is of yours. – The Duchess

If it had grown up, it would have made a dreadfully ugly child; but it makes rather a handsome pig, I think. – Alice

That's the reason they're called lessons, because they lessen from day to day. – The Gryphon

Can you do addition? What's one and one and one and one and one and one and one and one and one and one? – The White Queen

Door: Why it's simply impassible!

Alice: Why, don't you mean impossible? 
Door: No, I do mean impassible. Nothing's impossible!

Adventures first... explanations take such a dreadful time. – The Gryphon
 
Anyone can go by horse or rail, but the absolute best way to travel is by hat. – The Mad Hatter

If everybody minded their own business, the world would go around a great deal faster than it does. – The Duchess

The rule is, jam tomorrow and jam yesterday – but never jam today. – The White Queen

Take care of the sense, and the sounds will take care of themselves. – The Duchess

  

I know a thing or two about liking people, and in time, after much chocolate and cream cake, 'like' turns into 'what was his name again?'  – The Mad Hatter