"“I wonder,” he thought, “is it worth getting myself crushed in that crowd just to save my life? Is it worth getting all frustrated and angry, lowering myself to their level, pushing and shoving with all the rest, fighting like a common animal, just to stay alive?” He smiled ruefully. “It always comes to the simple question: what is more important, life or self-respect?"

“Proper knowledge defeats the shouting minions of emotion.”

“The only negative thing she had to say was that I displayed a tendency to exaggerate the facts for the sake of interesting reading.”

“You bought the girls drinks and you stared at their perfect bodies and you pretended that they liked you. And they pretended that they liked you, too. When you stopped spending money, they got up and pretended that they liked someone else.”

“Perhaps he could organize everyone. He could stand up on something and shout slogans until he had attracted enough attention. Then he could begin some rambling speech, hoping that the people around him would be so desperate for leadership they wouldn’t notice the absurdity of what he said.”

“With a stiff forefinger I silenced the koto music. Peace flooded in; the world thanked me.”

“His thoughts grew confused, and he mistook that quality for complexity.”