46 quotes
After all, our laws only reflect the definitions of the majority. When those ideas change, the laws change.
Relatives (1973)
I believe in a political revolution, without the aid of the military. I would rather win a man’s mind than compel his obedience.
Relatives (1973)
The night is this city’s single resource. Well, that and disease.
Relatives (1973)
Government by emotion is identified with rule by tyranny.
Relatives (1973)
The idea of sin and retribution is just an attempt to hide behind the shield of superstition. You are trying to find rational causes where there aren’t any.
Relatives (1973)
Marriage was something I thought happened only to other people, like fatal traffic accidents.
A Fire in the Sun (1989)
The only negative thing she had to say was that I displayed a tendency to exaggerate the facts for the sake of interesting reading.
What Entropy Means to Me (1972)
I was no more eccentric than your average raving loon.
When Gravity Fails (1986)
In many ways, Islam is a beautiful and elegant faith; but it is the nature of religions to put a higher premium on your proper attention to ritual than on your convenience.
When Gravity Fails (1986)
With a stiff forefinger I silenced the koto music. Peace flooded in; the world thanked me.
When Gravity Fails (1986)
It didn’t feel, at that moment, like I was getting into something over my head. It never does, before you take the leap.
When Gravity Fails (1986)
Was that what he wanted, what the grand scheme of Utopia 3 was designed for? It was a lot like death, only more tedious.
Death in Florence (1978)
“I think you should know that I’m a devout Christian.” I took that to mean that my new servant wholeheartedly disapproved of almost everything I might say or do.
A Fire in the Sun (1989)
I looked at myself in the mirror. I looked awful, but I always look awful in the mirror. I keep myself going with the firm belief that my real face is much better looking.
When Gravity Fails (1986)
That was the evil of Dr. Bertram Waters: the perpetuation of hopeless dreams, compounded by the betrayal of those dreams to make his own a reality.
Death in Florence (1978)
The network was running a pre-recorded tape of a morning quiz show. The contestants looked vapid, the announcer cheerfully bored, the questions pointless, and the prizes undesirable.
Relatives (1973)
We’re going to tell you about what it’s like, and what just might happen to you, and if you still want to be a writers we’ll know you’re insane.
The Ghost Writer (1973)
“You shouldn’t be so critical,” said Mike the bartender. “Some people like this kind of thing, you know.”
“The kind of person who gets excited over that, I don’t care about,” said Ernest.
Relatives (1973)
“The male sexual drive is supposed to fall off during moments of stress,” he thought. “It is comforting sometimes to know that I must be abnormal. Especially in a situation like this. Perpetual lust has got to be good for the human race.”
Relatives (1973)
Any thought which is printed, either here or in the paper, without subsequent attack is generally believed to be true. This is not so much a logical condition as it is a fault of human nature. A longstanding or constant idea is often equated with a true one.
What Entropy Means to Me (1972)