You should approach Joyce's Ulysses as the illiterate Baptist preacher approaches the Old Testament: with faith.

As long as I live under the capitalistic system I expect to have my life influenced by the demands of moneyed people. But I will be damned if I propose to be at the beck and call of every itinerant scoundrel who has two cents to invest in a postage stamp. This, sir, is my resignation.

Talk, talk, talk: the utter and heartbreaking stupidity of words.

Pouring out liquor is like burning books.

No battle is ever won ... victory is an illusion of philosophers and fools.

You get born and you try this and you don't know why, only you keep on trying it and you are born at the same time with a lot of other people, all mixed up with them, like trying to, having to, move your arms and legs with strings, only the same strings are hitched to all the other arms and legs and the others all trying and they don't know why either except that the strings are all in one another's way.

Menfolks listens to somebody because of what he says. Women don't. They don't care what he said. They listens because of what he is.