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Every terrible thing in the world was caused by a whole combination of things. But everybody wanted to narrow it down to one cause—and not even the real one. Much better to have one cause—one person to punish. Then the unbearable could be borne.

— Orson Scott Card The Crystal City (2003)

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More quotes by Orson Scott Card

“I’ve never seen a soft heart turn hard,” said Taleswapper. “At least not without good reason.”

Seventh Son (1987)

Anthropology is never an exact science; the observer never experiences the same culture as the participant.

Speaker for the Dead (1986)

The only true vision comes not from God but from the inmost recesses of the human mind.

Seventh Son (1987)

Evil people naturally assume that you will use that power exactly as they would use it.

Heartfire (1998)

The most evil creatures don’t desire the destruction of everything—they only desire to exploit it for themselves.

Seventh Son (1987)

All Orson Scott Card quotes →

Attribution

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