"Bomanz could not get away from the bird, who, if he had been human, would have hung out in taverns masquerading as the world’s foremost authority, armed with an uninformed and ready opinion on every conceivable subject. His cheerful bigotry and who-cares ignorance drove the old man’s temper to its limit."

“Rich men have dreams. Poor men die to make them come true.”

“If I had my druthers I’d be twenty-three years old for the rest of my life. Which would last another three thousand years.”

“We are not really a godless bunch. We are just the sort who ignore the gods—probably in the unconscious hope that the gods will not notice us.”

“One’s own yesterday is a ghost that will not be laid. Death is the only exorcism.”

“I have seen it before. Little people have to hate, have to blame someone for their own inadequacies.”

“Exact words were of no consequence. At heart the squabble was as old as humanity itself, fug-headed antiques locking horns with omniscient youth.”