12 Beautiful and inspiring quotes from the Nobel Laureate

July 13, 1934: On this day, Wole Soyinka was born in Abeokuta, Nigeria. Wole Soyinka has been an inspiration to many with his stellar creative books, inspiring words, and speaking out about issues concerning the nation.

READ: 10 things you may not know about Wole Soyinka

1. “The greatest threat to freedom is the absence of criticism.”

2. “A tiger doesn't proclaim his tigritude, he pounces”

3. “Books and all forms of writing are terror to those who wish to suppress truth.”

4. “Don't take shadows too seriously. Reality is your only safety. Continue to reject illusion.”

5. “The hand that dips into the bottom of the pot will eat the biggest snail.”

6. My horizon on humanity is enlarged by reading the writers of poems, seeing a painting, listening to some music, some opera, which has nothing at all to do with a volatile human condition or struggle or whatever. It enriches me as a human being.

7. “Well, some people say I'm pessimistic because I recognize the eternal cycle of evil. All I say is, look at the history of mankind right up to this moment and what do you find?”

8. Each time I think I've created time for myself, along comes a throwback to disrupt my private space.

9. There is something really horrific for any human being who feels he is being consumed by other people. I'm talking about a writer's critics, who don't address what you've written, but want to probe into your existence and magnify the trivia of your life without any sense of humor, without any sense of context.

10. “I don’t know any other way to live but to wake up every day armed with my convictions, not yielding them to the threat of danger and to the power and force of people who might despise me.”

11. One's own self-worth is tied to the worth of the community to which one belongs, which is intimately connected to humanity in general. What happens in Darfur becomes an assault on my own community, and on me as an individual. That's what the human family is all about.

12. Books and all forms of writing are terror to those who wish to suppress the truth.