[I]n Africa I was a member of a family—of a sort of family that the people of your culture haven't known for thousands of years. If gorillas were capable of such an expression, they would tell you that their family is like a hand, of which they are the fingers. They are fully aware of being a family but are very little aware of being individuals. Here in the zoo there were other gorillas—but there was no family. Five severed fingers do not make a hand.

But why? Why do you need prophets to tell you how you ought to live? Why do you need anyone to tell you how you ought to live

We are all captives of a story.

In fact, of course, there is no secret knowledge; no one knows anything that can't be found on a shelf in the public library.

There are times when having too much to say can be as dumbfounding as having too little.

What's normal is for things to work. What's not normal is for things to fail.

This law … defines the limits of competition in the community of life. You may compete to the full extent of your capabilities, but you may not hunt down your competitors or destroy their food or deny them access to food. In other words, you may compete but you may not wage war.