“Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and, above all, those who live without love.”

J. K. Rowling, Dumbledlore in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

“You are the true master of death, because the true master does not seek to run away from Death. He accepts that he must die, and understands that there are far, far worse things in the living world than dying.”

J. K. Rowling, Dumbledlore in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

“It is a curious thing, Harry, but perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who have never sought it. Those who, like you, have leadership thrust upon them, and take up the mantle because they must, and find to their own surprise that they wear it well.”

J. K. Rowling, Dumbledlore in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

“You are protected, in short, by your ability to love!” said Dumbledore loudly. “The only protection that can possibly work against the lure of power like Voldemort’s! In spite of all the temptation you have endured, all the suffering, you remain pure of heart, just as pure as you were at the age of eleven, when you stared into a mirror that reflected your heart’s desire, and it showed you only the way to thwart Lord Voldemort, and not immortality or riches. Harry, have you any idea how few wizards could have seen what you saw in that mirror? Voldemort should have known then what he was dealing with, but he did not! . . . he was in such a hurry to mutilate his own soul, he never paused to understand the incomparable power of a soul that is untarnished and whole.”

J. K. Rowling, Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

“Well—it’s just that you seem to be laboring under the delusion that I am going to—what is the phrase? ‘come quietly.’ I am afraid I am not going to come quietly at all, Cornelius. I have absolutely no intention of being sent to Azkaban. I could break out, of course—but what a waste of time, and frankly, I can think of a whole host of things I would rather be doing.”

J. K. Rowling, Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

“You are blinded,” said Dumbledore, his voice rising now, the aura of power around him palpable, his eyes blazing once more, “by the love of the office you hold, Cornelius! You place too much importance, and you always have done, on the so-called purity of blood! You fail to recognize that it matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be!”

J. K. Rowling, Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

“You think the dead we loved ever truly leave us? You think that we don’t recall them more clearly than ever in times of great trouble? Your father is alive in you, Harry, and shows himself most plainly when you have need of him.”

J. K. Rowling, Dumbledore in Prisoner of Azkaban

“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”

J. K. Rowling, Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

"After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure. You know, the Stone was really not such a wonderful thing. As much money and life as you could want! The two things most human beings would choose above all—the trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things that are worst for them.”

J. K. Rowling, Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone