(?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)
Amor Towles

“Anyone who has ridden the subway twice a day to earn their bread knows how it goes: When you board, you exhibit the same persona you use with your colleagues and acquaintances. You've carried it through the turnstile and past the sliding doors, so that your fellow passengers can tell who you are - cocky or cautious, amorous or indifferent, loaded or on the dole. But you find yourself a seat and the train gets under way; it comes to one station and then another; people get off and others get on. And under the influence of the cradlelike rocking of the train, your carefully crafted persona begins to slip away. The super-ego dissolves as your mind begins to wander aimlessly over your cares and your dreams; or better yet, it drifts into ambient hypnosis, where even cares and dreams recede and the peaceful silence of the cosmos pervades.”

Amor Towles, Rules of Civility
Read more quotes from Amor Towles


Share this quote:
Share on Twitter

Friends Who Liked This Quote

To see what your friends thought of this quote, please sign up!

65 likes
All Members Who Liked This Quote



This Quote Is From

Rules of Civility Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
264,810 ratings, average rating, 25,488 reviews

Browse By Tag