The love of violence is an aspect of our humanity. Even the weak wish to be strong primarily so they can wield the whip.

Laws had a bad habit of being ignored or abrogated when societal push came to totalitarian shove.

Pain is an interesting and off-putting thing. Few if any things in life concentrate our attention so completely and terribly, and few things are more boring to listen to or read about.

The shortest route to courage is absolute ignorance.

Luckily, even as a young man not yet become himself, John Bridgens had two things besides indecision that kept him from self-destruction - books and a sense of irony.

Nobody gets beyond a petroleum economy. Not while there's petroleum there.

Want to talk about Shakespeare's sonnets?" asked Orphu of Io. Are you shitting me?" The moravecs loved the ancient human colloquial phrases, the more scatological the better. Yes," said Orphu. "I am most definitely shitting you, my friend.