33 books
—
17 voters
Dragon's Egg
by
the human race settled down to solving the insoluble problem in the best way that they knew—they ignored it and hoped it would go away.


“Good-bye, my fair friend; beware of the amusing or capricious ideas which always seduce you too easily. Remember that in the career you are following, intelligence is not enough and that a single imprudence may become an irreparable misfortune. And finally sometime allow prudent friendship to guide your pleasures.
Good-bye, I still love you as much as if you were reasonable.”
― Les Liaisons dangereuses
Good-bye, I still love you as much as if you were reasonable.”
― Les Liaisons dangereuses

“Contrary to conventional wisdom, opportunity always knocks more than once whereas a false step can never be retraced.”
― Les Liaisons dangereuses
― Les Liaisons dangereuses

“From that moment on my thoughts were purely for my own benefit, and I revealed only what I found it useful to reveal.”
― Les Liaisons dangereuses
― Les Liaisons dangereuses

“The neurotic opts out of life because he is having trouble maintaining his illusions about it, which proves nothing less than that life is possible only with illusions.”
― The Denial of Death
― The Denial of Death

“The opportunity for evil in itself does not suffice; people need a rationale as well. Consider how unpleasant, how awkward it must be when your neighbor, catching his breath (and that can happen anytime), screams, 'Why?' - or, 'Aren't you ashamed?!' It's embarrassing to stand there without a ready answer. A crowbar makes a poor rebuttal, everybody senses that. The whole trick lies in having the proper grounds to brush aside such aggravating objections. Contemptuously. Everyone wants to commit a villainy without having to feel like a villain.”
― The Futurological Congress: From the Memoirs of Ijon Tichy
― The Futurological Congress: From the Memoirs of Ijon Tichy
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