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Every notion that any man, dead, living, or unborn, might form as to the universe will necessarily prove wrong.

— James Branch Cabell The Cream of the Jest: A Comedy of Evasions (1917)

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More quotes by James Branch Cabell

You must permit that I begin it in my own way, with what may to you at first seem dream-stuff.

The Cream of the Jest (1917)

The desire to write perfectly of beautiful happenings is, as the saying runs, old as the hills — and as immortal.

The Certain Hour (1916)

Life is very marvelous ... and to the wonders of the earth there is no end appointed.

The Silver Stallion (1926)

Good and evil keep very exact accounts... and the face of every man is their ledger.

Jurgen (1919)

While it is well enough to leave footprints on the sands of time, it is even more important to make sure they point in a commendable direction.

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Since, in the long run, every planetary society will be endangered by impacts from space, every surviving civilization is obliged to become spacefaring — not because of exploratory or romantic zeal, but for the most practical reason imaginable: staying alive.

Carl Sagan Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space (1994)

The stars awaken a certain reverence, because though always present, they are inaccessible; but all natural objects make a kindred impression, when the mind is open to their influence. Nature never wears a mean appearance.

Ralph Waldo Emerson Nature (1836)

Her blue eyes sought the west afar,
For lovers love the western star.

Walter Scott The Lay of the Last Minstrel (1805)

Einstein's space is no closer to reality than Van Gogh's sky.

Arthur Koestler The Act of Creation (1964)

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