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They had a good picture of the world as it is, not the rosy misconceptions so many other utopians labor under. They did the jobs that needed doing.

— John Varley

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More quotes by John Varley

The nice thing about being a pessimist is that bittersweet is an improvement.

Millennium (1983)

They understood the basic principles of morals: that nothing is moral always, and anything is moral under the right circumstances.

Like plugging into life-support equipment, I view apologizing as a dangerous vice that can take over your whole life if you give in to it.

Millennium (1983)

Predestination is the ugliest word in any human language.

Millennium (1983)

I found that it is much more pleasurable to read adventures than to live them.

The Ophiuchi Hotline (1977)

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All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

James Howell English Proverbs (1659)

When we see a great man desiring power instead of his real goal we soon recognize that he is sick, or more precisely that his attitude to his work is sick.

Martin Buber What is Man? (1938)

The fact is the sweetest dream that labor knows.

Robert Frost A Boy's Will (1913)

In a society such as ours, it is almost impossible for a person to be responsible.

Jacques Ellul The Betrayal by Technology (1993)

Attribution

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