Favourite quotes from books

[ríomhaire]

I just love this one and noone will understand why unless they've read the book.

Granny Weatherwax-Witches Abroud-Discworld series-Terry Pratchet
"That's easy," *points at self* "this one"

how about yours?

 

[Solaris]

If the people who expect to be praised and glorified for being charitable were never to give another farthing it would be far better for the industrious poor, because then the community as a whole would be compelled to deal with the absurd and unnecessary state of affairs that exists today – millions of people living and dying in wretchedness and poverty in an age when science and machinery have made it possible to produce such an abundance of everything that everyone might enjoy plenty and comfort. It if were not for all this so-called charity the starving unemployed men all over the country would demand to be allowed to work and produce the things they are perishing for want of, instead of being – as they are now – content to wear their masters’ cast-off clothing and to eat the crumbs that fall from his table.

The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists

 

[short recoil]

"If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face - forever." -1984

 

[Solaris]

"If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face - forever." -1984

Oh yes, Fantastic book.

 

[Nat Turner]

"If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face - forever." -1984

QFT.

I could name a couple dozen quotes from that book as my favorites. 1984 is worth reading two or three times.

 

[spookymooky]

I love the Welles quote about the cuckoo clock; someone has it as their signature here.

 

[Dekstar]

This planet has - or rather had - a problem, which was this: most of the people on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movements of small green pieces of paper, which is odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy.

-Hitch Hiker's guide to the galaxy
Awesome series.

 

[Lou]

All those 'sayings' were written by very intelligent persons for dumb people to repeat. With that in mind, please stop posting quotes taken out of context. thanks

 

[Solaris]

All those 'sayings' were written by very intelligent persons for dumb people to repeat. With that in mind, please stop posting quotes taken out of context. thanks

Oh so A ragged trousered Philanthropist wasn't an attack on capitalist society?

And I suppose 1984 was envisioning a utopia?

 

[spookymooky]

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

Man is not a rational animal, he is a rationalizing animal.

Violence, naked force, has settled more issues in history than has any other factor, and the contrary opinion is wishful thinking at its worst.

A zygote is a gamete's way of producing more gametes. This may be the purpose of the universe.

* All societies are based on rules to protect pregnant women and young children. All else is surplusage, excrescence, adornment, luxury, or folly, which can—and must—be dumped in emergency to preserve this prime function. As racial survival is the only universal morality, no other basic is possible. Attempts to formulate a "perfect society" on any foundation other than "Women and children first!" is not only witless, it is automatically genocidal. Nevertheless, starry-eyed idealists (all of them male) have tried endlessly—and no doubt will keep on trying.

Democracy is based on the assumption that a million men are wiser than one man. How's that again? I missed something.
Autocracy is based on the assumption that one man is wiser than a million men. Let's play that over again, too. Who decides?

Men rarely (if ever) manage to dream up a god superior to themselves. Most gods have the manners and morals of a spoiled child.

The phrase "we (I) (you) simply must—" designates some thing that need not be done. "That goes without saying" is a red warning. "Of course" means you had best check it yourself. These small-change clichés and others like them, when read correctly, are reliable channel markers.

There are hidden contradictions in the minds of people who "love Nature" while deploring the "artificialities" with which "Man has spoiled 'Nature.'" The obvious contradiction lies in their choice of words, which imply that Man and his artifacts are not part of "Nature"—but beavers and their dams are. But the contradictions go deeper than this prima-face absurdity. In declaring his love for a beaver dam (erected by beavers for beavers' purposes) and his hatred for dams erected by men (for the purposes of men) the Naturist reveals his hatred for his own race—i.e., his own self-hatred.
In the case of "Naturists" such self-hatred is understandable; they are such a sorry lot. But hatred is too strong an emotion to feel toward them; pity and contempt are the most they rate.
As for me, willy-nilly I am a man, not a beaver, and H. sapiens is the only race I have or can have. Fortunately for me, I like being part of a race made up of men and women—it strikes me as a fine arrangement -and perfectly "natural" Believe it or not, there were "Naturists" who opposed the first flight to old Earth's Moon as being "unnaturaI" and a "despoiling of Nature."

But I will accept and rules that you feel necessary to your freedom. I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do.

Of all the nonsense that twists the world, the concept of 'altruism' is the worst. People do what they want to, every time. If it pains them, to make a choice- if the 'choice' looks like a 'sacrifice' -- you can be sure that it is no nobler than the discomfort caused by greediness... the necessity of having to decide between two things you want when you can't have both. The ordinary bloke suffers every time he chooses between spending a buck on beer or tucking it away for his kids, between getting up to go to work and losing his job. But he always chooses that which hurts least or pleasures most. The scoundrel and the saint make the same choices....

A few by Robert Heinlein, well more than a few, but when I went to look up that last one, I found the others as well...

 

[xcellerate]

somebody say it....


...


..."42."

 

[sinkoman]

"Best ****ing machine in the entire state. Wind her up and she'll **** you and say she loves you and won't shut up till you buy her a Collonel Sanders Kentucky Fried Chicken Franchise"

 

[Dekstar]

Mooky those are awesome quotes. Heinlein seems like an interesting fellow. Might pick up a few of his books (Though just reading that post gave me a headache).

 

[spookymooky]

Try Starship Troopers first. It's nothing like the movie. His stuff on the philosophy of war is extremely interesting. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is pretty neat too.

 

[Captain M4d]

I memorized this easily, and I ocassionally say it in school when I hear something related:
"Thoughtcrime does not entail death; thoughtcrime is death."

 

[Skaadi]

I memorized this easily, and I ocassionally say it in school when I hear something related:
"Thoughtcrime does not entail death; thoughtcrime is death."

lol, 1984 ftw.

"So many good ideas have to be discarded simply because they dont work." -Kalten

I cant remember which book that was from exactly, it was from one of The Elenium or The Tamuli series by David Eddings.

 

[evil^milk]

do you guys read on your own for fun? i find it hard to get time to read, but that's mostly because i spend more time studying music; though i'd really like to pick up a book one of these days and start reading.

 

[Skaadi]

do you guys read on your own for fun? i find it hard to get time to read, but that's mostly because i spend more time studying music; though i'd really like to pick up a book one of these days and start reading.

Yes indeed we do, i suggest 1984 or someting by David Eddings......

 

[evil^milk]

the only good book i've read (the only one book since harry potter 4) is 1984 and it was on summer vacations

i'll look into david errings though.

 

[Skaadi]

the only good book i've read (the only one book since harry potter 4) is 1984 and it was on summer vacations

i'll look into david errings though.

Heh, The elenium and the Tamuli series, not the other two, dear god not the other two....

 

[sinkoman]

"I was the victim of a series of unfortunate events, as we all are"

*shrugs*

 

[Skaadi]

"All right then," Vanion said, "Let's get started, gentlemen. We have a number of friendly patriarchs to round up, and Kalten, I want you to start practising forgery. The names you'll be substituting on those arrest warrants will have to be in the handwriting of the Earl of Lenda." He paused thoughtfully, looking at his blond subordinate. "You'd better take Sparhawk with you," he added.
"I can manage, My Lord."
Vanion shook his head. "No Kalten," he disagreed. "I don't think so. I've seen your attempts at spelling before."
"Bad?" Darellon asked him.
"Terrible my friend. Once he wrote down a six-letter word and he didn't manage to get a single letter right."
"Some words are difficult to spell Vanion."
"His own name?"
- The Sapphire Rose

 

[xcellerate]

I hate to write 8 pages on 1984...that was almost fun. The book was good, as everybody else said, although the ending i found way to 'perfect' why would you scream that? Out of all things in the world to scream, why would you scream something that nobody has ever screamed in a similar situation before that just so happens to be exactly what they wanted him to say?

Do it to Julia! omg!! not ze ratz! oh nooooes!

I don't know, it's been a while since i've read it, but if someone held me at gunpoint, i wouldn't scream "Noo! to do it my <significant other>!!?

 

[diluted]

There was a man who sat each day looking out through a narrow vertical opening where a single board had been removed from a wooden fence. Each day a wild ass of the desert passed outside the fence and across the narrow opening--first the nose, then the head, the forelegs, the long brown back, the hindlegs, and lastly the tail. One day the man leaped to his feet with a light of discovery in his eyes and he shouted for all who could hear him: "It is obvious! The nose causes the tail!"

meh, I always liked that quote... it's from one of the DUNE books.

 

[spookymooky]

I hate to write 8 pages on 1984...that was almost fun. The book was good, as everybody else said, although the ending i found way to 'perfect' why would you scream that? Out of all things in the world to scream, why would you scream something that nobody has ever screamed in a similar situation before that just so happens to be exactly what they wanted him to say?

Do it to Julia! omg!! not ze ratz! oh nooooes!

I don't know, it's been a while since i've read it, but if someone held me at gunpoint, i wouldn't scream "Noo! to do it my <significant other>!!?

I think that both of them knew that that was the only way out. Basically, Smith had given in in every way, but he still hadn't betrayed Julia. So, O'Brian needed him to do that, and Smith knew he needed him to do that.


Um, Spoilers...

 

[Solaris]

I'd agree, it made sense and sort of destroyed my sense of humanity at the same time.

 

[Sulkdodds]

Virtual Light:

Skinner: Time. That's the real f*cking motherf*cker.

Men at Arms (paraphrased):

Colon: Alright, but if he won't co-operate you don't hurt him. That's an order.

...1 minute later...

Carrot (to guard): If you do not comply, I will be forced to execute an order that I was given just moments ago.
Guard: D:
Carrot: It'd be a pity, but make no mistake, I will follow it to the letter.

 

[Jintor]

Ah, PTerry and his magical Disc of a world. There are so many quotations I don't know where to begin.

I like this one though.

IT'S THE EXPRESSION ON THEIR LITTLE FACES I LIKE, said the Hogfather.
'You mean the sort of fear and awe and not knowing whether to laugh or cry or wet their pants?'
YES. NOW THAT IS WHAT I CALL BELIEF.