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[G]overnments always need enemies, even when they're not at war. If you don't have a real enemy, you make one up and spread the word. It scares the population, and when the people are scared, they tend not to step out of line.

— Paul Auster Oracle Night (2003)

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War

More quotes by Paul Auster

The story is not in the words; it's in the struggle.

The New York Trilogy (1987)

Men don't begin to live fully until their backs are against the wall.

The Book of Illusions (2002)

For only the good doubt their own goodness, which is what makes them good in the first place. The bad know they are good, but the good know nothing. They spend their lives forgiving others, but they can't forgive themselves.

Man in the Dark (2008)

Translators are the shadow heroes of literature, the often forgotten instruments that make it possible for different cultures to talk to one another, who have enabled us to understand that we all, from every part of the world, live in one world.

That's what makes his story so impossible, David. Because he's told me the truth. (Alma to David on Hector)

The Book of Illusions (2002)

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All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree. All these aspirations are directed toward ennobling man's life, lifting it from the sphere of mere physical existence and leading the individual towards freedom.

Albert Einstein Moral Decay (1937)

The last half of the 20th century will seem like a wild party for rich kids, compared to what's coming now.

Hunter S. Thompson

Only the dead have seen the end of war.

George Santayana Soliloquies in England and Later Soliloquies (1922)

Wars produce many stories of fiction, some of which are told until they are believed to be true.

Ulysses S. Grant Personal Memoirs of General U. S. Grant (1885)

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Paul Auster (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.