"Who was it who said that a wise man speaks when he has something to say, but a fool speaks because he must?"

Alastair Reynolds Literature See all quotes by Alastair Reynolds →

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“She wondered if she could put a dart in his eye. It would not kill him, but it might take the edge off his cockiness.”

“His parents had abdicated responsibility to an illusion.”

“But make no mistake. My counterpart is capable of a great deal of ruthlessness in pursuit of a just cause. He believes he has right on his side. And men who think they have right on their side are always the most dangerous sort.”

“I felt a terrible sadness open inside me, a void through which the winds from the end of the universe were blowing.”

“The future might have been crammed with miracles and wonders, but it also offered truly awesome opportunities for screwing up.”

“Sorry, Campion, but we can’t trust Lady Luck any more. Lately she’s taken to pissing on us from a great height.”

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"I hope the time is not far off when I shall be able to unite all the wise and educated men of all the countries and establish a uniform regime based on the principles of the Quran which alone are true…"

— Napoleon I of France

Politics1769–1821

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"It was once said that democracy is the regime that stands or falls by virtue: a democracy is a regime in which all or most adults are men of virtue, and since virtue seems to require wisdom, a regime …"

— Leo Strauss

Philosophy1899–1973

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"HENRY: Now it is necessary to court her, and win her, and put on this clean dressing gown, and cut my various nails, and drink something that will kill the millions of germs in my mouth, and say somet…"

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