Of all conceivable journeys, this promised to be the most tedious.
– R. L. Stevenson, Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes
Every thing’s got a moral, if only you can find it.
– Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
You sense that there is something treacherous hiding behind every reef; no matter how much you explore you won’t ever know what it is.
– Jerzy Kosinski, The Devil Tree
Work is largely repetitive, while reading imparts something new.
– Sean
For there are two possible reactions to social ostracism – either a man emerges determined to be better, purer, and kindlier or he goes bad, challenges the world and does even worse things.
– John Steinbeck, Cannery Row
All this attention flatters me but at the same time I know it’s completely superficial. These people see exactly what they want to see and what they want to see is a spoiled rich boy, dissatisfied with life.
– Jerzy Kosinski, The Devil Tree
It opened, stood open for a moment, and then closed with a slam.
– H.G. Wells, The Invisible Man
The flag is a symbol we attach our emotions to, but it isn’t the emotion itself and it isn’t the thing we really care about. Sometimes we don’t even realize what we really care about, because we get so distracted by the symbol.
– Tom Wolfe, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test
Mess is a kind of order that is so rich in detail that it is a mess.
– Tor Norretranders, The User Illusion
Outside our conscious awareness, an advanced illusion rearranges events in time.
– Tor Norretranders, The User Illusion