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Human beings act, certainly. But none of them knows why they act as they do. There is a scattering of facts, which can be known and reported. Beyond these facts are the stories that are told. Human beings may behave like puppets, but no one is pulling the strings.

— John Gray The Soul of the Marionette: A Short Enquiry into Human Freedom (2015)

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More quotes by John Gray

In the life of the academic mind, the owl of Minerva seldom flies as early as the dusk.

Gray's Anatomy: Selected Writings (2009)

The evil of totalitarianism is not only that it fails to protect specific liberties but that it extinguishes the very possibility of freedom.

Gray's Anatomy: Selected Writings (2009)

It is rare that individuals value their freedom more than the comfort that comes with servility.

If you want to understand the beliefs that are shaping global politics, read the Book of Revelation.

The result of toppling tyranny in divided countries is usually civil war and ethnic cleansing.

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Attribution

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