I don't believe in miracles because it's been a long time since we've had any.

In the long run, failure was the only thing that worked predictably. All else was accidental.

To Yossarian, the idea of pennants as prizes was absurd. No money went with them, no class privileges. Like Olympic medals and tennis trophies, all they signified was that the owner had done something of no benefit to anyone more capably than everyone else.

I had examined myself pretty thoroughly and discovered that I was unfit for military service.

The problem with the loneliness I suffer is that the company of others has never been a cure for it.

The Lord gave us farmers two strong hands so we could grab as much as we could with both of them.

How did I get here? Somebody pushed me. Somebody must have set me off in this direction and clus-ters of other hands must have touched themselves to the controls at various times, for I would not have picked this way for the world.