"I'm sorry," Ethan said. "You have taught me something — maybe three things, rabbit footling mine. Three things will never be believed — the true, the probable, and the logical. I know now where to get the money to start my fortune."

John Steinbeck Literature See all quotes by John Steinbeck →

React to this quote

More by John Steinbeck

“A plan is a real thing, and things projected are experienced. A plan once made and visualized becomes a reality along with other realities—never to be destroyed but easily to be attacked.”

“There are no ugly questions except those clothed in condescension.”

“A man who tells secrets or stories must think of who is hearing or reading, for a story has as many versions as it has readers.”

“I am in love with Montana. For other states I have admiration, respect, recognition, even some affection, but with Montana it is love.”

“The Grapes of Wrath quotes analyzed”

“A little hope, even hopeless hope, never hurt anybody.”

Resonant Thoughts

"I never go to where's a risk. I'm frightened of dangers down to boredom."

— Fernando Pessoa

Literature1888–1935

#fear

"In Japan, even when you’re alone, you’re never really that lonely. But the loneliness you feel among people with differently colored skin and eyes, whose language you don’t even speak very well – that…"

— Ryu Murakami

Literature1952

#friendship

"Had population and food increased in the same ratio, it is probable that man might never have emerged from the savage state."

— Thomas Robert Malthus

Politics1766–1834

#power

"...capitalism is basically a system where everything is for sale, and the more money you have, the more you can get. And, in particular, that's true of freedom. Freedom is one of the commodities that …"

— Noam Chomsky

Philosophy1928

#justice