"What wouldn't I give now for a never-changing map of the ever-constant ineffable? To possess, as it were, an atlas of clouds."

David Mitchell (author)Literature See all quotes by David Mitchell (author) →

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“How lazily "xperts" dismiss what they fail to understand.”

“Lunatics are writers whose works write them.”

“Diplomacy… mops up war’s spillages; legitimizes its outcomes; gives the strong state the means to impose its will on a weaker one, while saving its fleets and battalions for weightier opponents.”

“The body is the outermost layer of the mind.”

“Science devises ever bloodier means of war until humanity’s powers of destruction overcome our powers of creation and our civilisation drives itself to extinction.”

“The most malicious god is the god of the counted chicken.”

Resonant Thoughts

"He still felt surges of generosity, and gave in to them if they didn’t cramp his style. That was it. He could be kind if kindness caused him no problems."

— Gabrielle Roy

Literature1909–1983

#kindness

"Jabir b. 'Abdullah reported: Abu Bakr came and sought permission to see Allah's Messenger . He found people sitting at his door and none amongst them had been granted permission, but it was granted to…"

— Hazrat Aisha (R.A.)

Politics613–678

#humor

"A malfunction of this type can be cured only by changing the nature of the universe, which is, of course, impractical."

— Robert Sheckley

Literature1928–2005

#nature

"Tell the King, that whole cities are in open revolt against the prosecutions, and that it is impossible to enforce the decrees here. As for myself, I shall continue to hold by the Catholic faith; but …"

— William the Silent

Politics1568–1648

#justice