“The human mind is incredible. It can do nothing without belief, yet practically anything with it.”
― Sylvia Engdahl, quote from Enchantress from the Stars
“People who love each other can no more keep from communicating than from breathing.”
― Sylvia Engdahl, quote from Enchantress from the Stars
“Must a man then live as his fellows live, and never reach beyond?”
― Sylvia Engdahl, quote from Enchantress from the Stars
“There are different kinds of truth. And if our kind is more mature than theirs, it's so only because we know that.”
― Sylvia Engdahl, quote from Enchantress from the Stars
“What is it, I wonder, that makes two people suddenly become important to each other? So important that everything else around them just fades away?”
― Sylvia Engdahl, quote from Enchantress from the Stars
“I know little of magic, Lady,' he said haltingly. 'I am but a woodcutter's son, and there is much that is not given to men to understand; but of this I am sure: there is more to things than we imagine. Beyond the stars are worlds without number, perhaps, and had I never sought to look beyond my own I should be the poorer for it.”
― Sylvia Engdahl, quote from Enchantress from the Stars
“It is the only happiness now possible to me, to know that all is well with you”
― Sylvia Engdahl, quote from Enchantress from the Stars
“But a light now waxed within him at the knowledge that such wonders as he had been shown could exist.”
― Sylvia Engdahl, quote from Enchantress from the Stars
“I had the details of that photograph memorised.”
― Suzanne Rindell, quote from Three-Martini Lunch
“Would that be dangerous, to not look while being looked at?”
― Helen Oyeyemi, quote from The Icarus Girl
“And nowadays, I keep my promises.”
― Shane Dawson, quote from It Gets Worse: A Collection of Essays
“You know I don’t like giving speeches,” Glory said, “so I’ll just say this. We’re going to save our fellow RainWings, and we’re going to make this rainforest safe, and we’re going to do it like real RainWings. And by the three moons, try not to talk or sneeze or fall asleep in the tunnel on the way there, all right?”
― Tui T. Sutherland, quote from The Dark Secret
“Loving, of enemies is another dogma of feigned morality, and has besides no meaning. It is incumbent on man, as a moralist, that he does not revenge an injury; and it is equally as good in a political sense, for there is no end to retaliation; each retaliates on the other, and calls it justice: but to love in proportion to the injury, if it could be done, would be to offer a premium for a crime. Besides, the word enemies is too vague and general to be used in a moral maxim, which ought always to be clear and defined, like a proverb. If a man be the enemy of another from mistake and prejudice, as in the case of religious opinions, and sometimes in politics, that man is different to an enemy at heart with a criminal intention; and it is incumbent upon us, and it contributes also to our own tranquillity, that we put the best construction upon a thing that it will bear. But even this erroneous motive in him makes no motive for love on the other part; and to say that we can love voluntarily, and without a motive, is morally and physically impossible.
Morality is injured by prescribing to it duties that, in the first place, are impossible to be performed, and if they could be would be productive of evil; or, as before said, be premiums for crime. The maxim of doing as we would be done unto does not include this strange doctrine of loving enemies; for no man expects to be loved himself for his crime or for his enmity.
Those who preach this doctrine of loving their enemies, are in general the greatest persecutors, and they act consistently by so doing; for the doctrine is hypocritical, and it is natural that hypocrisy should act the reverse of what it preaches. For my own part, I disown the doctrine, and consider it as a feigned or fabulous morality; yet the man does not exist that can say I have persecuted him, or any man, or any set of men, either in the American Revolution, or in the French Revolution; or that I have, in any case, returned evil for evil.”
― Thomas Paine, quote from The Age of Reason
BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.
We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.
Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.