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There are some ten thousand religious sects — each with its own cosmology, each with its own answer for the meaning of life and death. Most assert that the other 9,999 not only have it completely wrong but are instruments of evil, besides.

— Jon Krakauer

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Life

More quotes by Jon Krakauer

A trancelike state settles over your efforts; the climb becomes a clear-eyed dream.

Into the Wild (1996)

In solo climbing the whole enterprise is held together with little more than chutzpah, not the most reliable adhesive.

Into the Wild (1996)

I've come to terms with the fact that uncertainty is an inescapable corollary of life. An abundance of mystery is simply part of the bargain — which doesn't strike me as something to lament.

Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith (2003)

But now that I was finally here, actually standing on the summit of Mount Everest, I just couldn't summon the energy to care.

Into Thin Air (1997)

Early on a difficult climb, especially a difficult solo climb, you constantly feel the abyss pulling at your back. To resist takes a tremendous conscious effort; you don't dare let your guard down for an instant.

Into the Wild (1996)

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To fear love is to fear life, and those who fear life are already three parts dead.

Bertrand Russell Marriage and Morals (1929)

Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact.

William James The Will to Believe and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy (1897)

Reason is Life's sole arbiter, the magic Laby'rinth's single clue:
Worlds lie above, beyond its ken; what crosses it can ne'er be true.

Richard Francis Burton The Kasîdah of Hâjî Abdû El-Yezdî (1870)

It is the law of life that if you are kind to someone you feel happy. If you are cruel you are unhappy. And if you hurt someone, you will be hurt back.

Cary Grant Love – That’s All Cary Grant Ever Thinks About (1964)

Attribution

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