So the whole war is because we can't talk to each other.

You take a step, then another. That's the journey. But to take a step with your eyes open is not a journey at all, it's a remaking of your own mind.

If human beings are all monsters, why should I sacrifice anything for them?" "Because they are beautiful monsters..., And when they live in a network of peace and hope, when they trust the world and their deepest hungers are fulfilled, then within that system, that delicate web, there is joy. That is what we live for, to bind the monsters together, to murder their fear and give birth to their beauty.

It's called civilization. Women invented it, and every time you men blow it all to bits, we just invent it again.

Satanic Verses is a despicable book that could not have been written by a person who wished to behave decently and responsibly.

I've had your tears with mine, and you've had mine with yours. I think that's more intimate even than a kiss.

One bachelor is an irritation. Ten thousand bachelors are a war.