The Neverending Story Quotes
The 8 most famous lines from Michael Ende’s The Neverending Story (1979), each with its speaker and the scene it belongs to. These are the quotes readers underline, copy into essays and put on walls - gathered in one place, explained in a line.
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“Human passions have mysterious ways, in children as well as grown-ups.”
- the narrator. Prologue - the novel opens by treating readers of every age as subject to passion.
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“Everyone in Fantastica knew what the medallion meant.”
- the narrator. Chapter II, 'Atreyu's Mission' - the Auryn marks the Empress's authority.
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“The Childlike Empress has always been there.”
- Morla. Chapter III, 'Morla the Aged One' - Morla explains the Empress's nature.
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“What I've started I must finish.”
- Bastian Balthazar Bux. Chapter IV, 'Ygramul the Many' - Bastian's resolve as he reads.
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“Luckdragons are among the strangest animals in Fantastica.”
- the narrator. Chapter IV, 'Ygramul the Many' - the narrator introduces Falkor's kind.
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“Why one traveler and not another?”
- Engywook. Chapter VI, 'The Three Magic Gates' - Engywook's question about the gates.
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“There are many doors to Fantastica.”
- Mr. Coreander. Chapter XXVI, 'The Water of Life' - the closing lesson about stories.
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“A person's reason for doing someone a good turn matters as much as the good turn itself.”
- the narrator. Chapter XXI, 'The Star Cloister' - a full-sentence reflection on motive.
Why these lines survive
Michael Ende’s sentences earn their fame by compression: each line carries the whole book’s argument in a form you can carry in your pocket. Read in order, the 8 quotes above also sketch the novel’s shape - the world it opens, the pressure it applies, the note it ends on. If you meet them before the book, nothing is spoiled beyond mood; if you meet them after, each one lands like a place you have been.
Quote collectors: pair this page with the The Neverending Story quiz to see which lines actually stuck, the book club questions when you want to argue about them, or how long the reread takes - about 7 hours at an average pace. If the lines did their job and you want more of the same nerve, the books like The Neverending Story list is next.
How to use a quotes page
Three honest uses. Before reading: skim the first two quotes to taste the prose - if the voice does not pull you, the book will not either. During: mark which quote you actually reach in the text, because the distance between famous line and lived scene is where a book keeps its secrets. After: pick the one quote you would defend at dinner and check it against the discussion questions - a quote you can argue about is a quote you understood. What a quotes page is not for is replacing the book; five lines of Michael Ende are an invitation, not a summary.
More quote collections
The Odyssey quotes, Moby-Dick quotes, Don Quixote quotes, Alice in Wonderland quotes - or browse quotes from all 133 classics. Then see which of them stuck on the original book quiz.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most famous quote from The Neverending Story?
“Human passions have mysterious ways, in children as well as grown-ups.” - the line most readers meet first. The full list above gives the scene for every one of the 8.
How many The Neverending Story quotes are here?
8, chosen because they are the lines readers actually underline and repeat - each with who says it and where it lands in the book.
Are these quotes explained?
Yes - every quote carries its speaker and a one-line context, because a quote without its scene loses most of its charge.
Can I use these in an essay or post?
Short quoted lines with attribution are standard fair use in essays and posts. Quote accurately, name the author, and you are on solid ground.
Are these The Neverending Story quotes word-for-word accurate?
They are checked against the novel as written, not harvested from quote sites - which is why a few famous “lines” you may have seen elsewhere are missing here: many of those come from film adaptations or paraphrase the prose. What is listed above is the book.