20 quotes
Human worlds are always awash in superstition, only a stubborn elite proof against it.
The Margarets (2007)
Fear and superstition always follow the unseen, the unknown, the whispered of.
The Margarets (2007)
They learn nothing, for they’re convinced they know everything that matters.
The Margarets (2007)
For those impervious to history, only sterilization and quarantine are efficacious.
The Margarets (2007)
The use of destructive, noisy machinery for recreational purposes must become anathema to humans, as unthinkable as eating one’s young.
The Margarets (2007)
The only thing rarer than louts who think is louts who read.
The Margarets (2007)
Ideas oozed out of books like magma out of volcanoes.
The Margarets (2007)
Something in their history has moved them to patience. Wise leaders do not go to war with enemies, not even evil enemies, unless they have thought it through to the end.
The Margarets (2007)
Old gods sometimes do that in their retirement. They become galactic social workers, self-appointed do-gooders.
The Margarets (2007)
The place displayed luxury without comfort, ostentation without art. I hated it.
The Margarets (2007)
“Sit down, Grandma,” Glory urged. “You’re very pale. This is all very weird and strange, and you’re allergic to strange.”
The Margarets (2007)
Think of that, Joziré! A court dedicated to pure justice, one that can overrule the law! They didn’t even have one of those back on old Earth!
The Margarets (2007)
The Gardener says that mortals often pass laws they cannot enforce in order to be seen as “strong,” or “determined,” even though they know the laws will not solve the problem.
The Margarets (2007)
Mr. Weathereye had always said that civility could not possibly be resented by any civilized person; that if resentment were offered, it was a sure sign of loutdom.
The Margarets (2007)
Earth had always operated on a continuous-growth model that requires a poverty class. Sustainable models require productive work by all members and are quite different.
The Margarets (2007)
We had both learned from the Gardener that old vengeance is like old cake: still seeming sweet, but so dry that one invariably chokes on it.
The Margarets (2007)
That symbol always reminded me of that historic educational effort called “No child left behind,” which actually meant “No child gets ahead,” for compliance meant dumbing everything down so no one would learn more than the least capable. “Enough for all” really meant “Too little for everybody.”
The Margarets (2007)
The people of Earth did not understand that humans were part of a worldwide organism, that something as tiny as a cluster of bacteria could mean the difference between life and death for every living thing, the difference between a functioning, flourishing planet and a desolation.
The Margarets (2007)
“Though many mortals speak with authority concerning what their Members want—“Our Father wants us to sacrifice a bullock,” “Kali demands we garrote a passerby”—the desires and demands of the gods are always determined by the desires and demands of the people. Whatever the prophet or priesthood comes up with, the gods parrot.
The Margarets (2007)
By the time mortal races leave their home planets, many of their gods have already amalgamated with one another. Small tribal godlets are often thrust together through shared execrations. All Death-Honor-and-War gods, for example, are identical. The people may fly different flags, but their gods are happy to drink blood from both sides of the battle.
The Margarets (2007)