In order for him to believe sincerely in eternity, others had to share in this belief, because a belief that no one else shares is called schizophrenia.
Victor PelevinReading is human contact, and the range of our human contacts is what makes us what we are. Just imagine you live the life of a long-distance truck driver. The books that you read are like the travelers you take into your cab. If you give lifts to people who are cultured and profound, you'll learn a lot from them. If you pick up fools, you'll turn into a fool yourself.
Victor PelevinI am closest of all to happinessโalthough I wonโt attempt to define just what it isโwhen I turn away from the window and am aware, with the edge of my consciousness, that a moment ago I was not here, there was simply the world outside the window, and something beautiful and incomprehensible, something which there is absolutely no need to โcomprehend,โ existed for a few seconds instead of the usual swarm of thoughts, of which one, like a locomotive, pulls all the others after it, absorbs them all and calls itself โIโ.
Victor Pelevin