Whoever declares another heretic is himself a devil. Whoever places a relic or artifact above justice, kindness, mercy, or truth is himself a devil and the thing elevated is a work of evil magic.

Mankind accepts good fortune as his due, but when bad occurs, he thinks it was aimed at him, done to him, a hex, a curse, a punishment by his deity for some transgression, as though his god were a petty storekeeper, counting up the day's receipts.

There are writers who say they have no social responsibility except to write a good book, but that doesn't satisfy me.

Men like to think well of themselves, and poets help them do it.

All around the Mediterranean you'll find cultures that believe men can't control themselves and shouldn't have to try.

Boys play with death as though it were a game, cutting their teeth on daggers.

To me, fantasy has always been the genre of escape, science fiction the genre of ideas. So if you can escape and have a little idea as well, maybe you have some kind of a cross-breed between the two.