---
title: "2 Deserved Quotes By Toni Morrison"
description: "2 Deserved quotes by Toni Morrison. Plus more from Toni Morrison and more Deserved sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/854/toni-morrison-271_beauty_all-of-our-waste-which-we-dumped-on-her_581877.jpg"
---

> [“All of our waste which we dumped on her and which she absorbed. And all of our beauty, which was hers first and which she gave to us. All of us—all who knew her—felt so wholesome after we cleaned ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/all-of-our-waste-which-we-dumped-on-her-and-which-she-absorbed-and/)

[Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/854/toni-morrison-271_beauty_all-of-our-waste-which-we-dumped-on-her_581877.jpg)

> [“Apparently he thought he deserved only to be loved--from a distance, though--and given what he wanted. And in return he would be . . . what? Pleasant? Generous? Maybe all he was really saying was: I am not responsible for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/apparently-he-thought-he-deserved-only-to-be-loved-from-a-distance/)

[Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a6/toni-morrison-271_friendship_apparently-he-thought-he-deserved-only-t_1905167.jpg)

## More by Toni Morrison

> [Perhaps that's what all human relationships boiled down to: Would you save my life? or would you take it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/perhaps-that-s-what-all-human-relationships-boiled-down-to-would-you/)

[Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/)

> [There, in the center of that silence was not eternity but the death of time and a loneliness so profound the word itself had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-in-the-center-of-that-silence-was-not-eternity-but-the-death-of/)

[Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/)

> [In times of dread, artists must never choose to remain silent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/in-times-of-dread-artists-must-never-choose-to-remain-silent/)

[Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/)

> [“Not know it was hard;knowing it was harder”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/not-know-it-was-hard-knowing-it-was-harder/)

[Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/)

> [“Didn’t everything on God’s earth have or acquire defense?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/didn-t-everything-on-god-s-earth-have-or-acquire-defense/)

[Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/)

> [If you can't count, they can cheat you. If you can't read, they can beat you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/if-you-can-t-count-they-can-cheat-you-if-you-can-t-read-they-can-beat/)

[Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/)

> [“You looked at them and wondered why the were so ugly; you looked closely and could not find the source. Then you realized that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/you-looked-at-them-and-wondered-why-the-were-so-ugly-you-looked/)

[Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/)

> [All she saw, down in the cellar well beneath the stoop, was a light yellow feather with a tip of green. And she had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/all-she-saw-down-in-the-cellar-well-beneath-the-stoop-was-a-light/)

[Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/)

> [For me, Art is the restoration of order. It may discuss all sort of terrible things, but there must be satisfaction at the end.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/for-me-art-is-the-restoration-of-order-it-may-discuss-all-sort-of/)

[Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/)

> [“To Sethe, the future was a matter of keeping the past at bay”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/to-sethe-the-future-was-a-matter-of-keeping-the-past-at-bay/)

[Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/)

> [“Hate does that. Burns off everything but itself, so whatever your grievance is, your face looks just like your enemy's.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/hate-does-that-burns-off-everything-but-itself-so-whatever-your/)

[Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/)

> [“You know how a star is supposed to twinkle? We say twinkle because that is how it looks, but when a star feels itself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/you-know-how-a-star-is-supposed-to-twinkle-we-say-twinkle-because/)

[Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/)

> [“There is no bad luck in the world but whitefolks”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-is-no-bad-luck-in-the-world-but-whitefolks/)

[Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/)

> [My father saw two black men lynched on his street in Cartersville, as a child. And I think seeing two black businessmen - not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/my-father-saw-two-black-men-lynched-on-his-street-in-cartersville-as/)

[Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/)

> [“She was fierce in the presence of death, heroic even, as she was at no other time. Its threat gave her direction, clarity, audacity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/she-was-fierce-in-the-presence-of-death-heroic-even-as-she-was-at-no/)

[Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/)

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