“Seward appreciated the honest and open way that Stanton lied; it was the hallmark of the truly great lawyer, and demonstrated a professional mastery not unlike his own.”
― Gore Vidal, quote from Lincoln
“I realize,” said Sumner, “that the press is hardly reliable.” Lincoln turned from the window; suddenly, he grinned. “Oh, yes, they are. They lie. And then they re-lie. So they are nothing if not re-lie-able.”
― Gore Vidal, quote from Lincoln
“In politics, as in love, opposites attract, and the misunderstandings that ensue tend to be as bitter and, as in love, as equally terminal.”
― Gore Vidal, quote from Lincoln
“Now you may not know this”—Lincoln shut his eyes—“but when I first ran for the Illinois legislature, I came out, more or less, for female suffrage; not exactly the most popular position to take back then, and in that part of the world.” “It is still not the most popular issue anywhere in the world, thank God.” “Well, Mrs. Frémont comes to see me late at night—right off the cars from the West—and threatens me to my face with an uprising against the government, led by the Frémonts and their radical friends. So I called her, in the nicest way, I thought, ‘Quite a lady politician,’ and she was madder than a wet hen and went and told everyone that I’d threatened her!” Lincoln sighed. “Is it possible that female suffrage may not be the answer to every human problem?”
― Gore Vidal, quote from Lincoln
“helped the boy-governor eat the remains of the fruit, they discussed how it was that newspapers sometimes knew all sorts of secrets that they ought not to have known—and certainly ought not to publish, when the rest of the time they had no interest in facts at all. “Whatever sounds as if it might suit the prejudices of the reader, that is what will be published,” said Chase.”
― Gore Vidal, quote from Lincoln
“It is my task always to know, particularly when I don’t.”
― Gore Vidal, quote from Lincoln
“You know what Mr. Bates called me?” Seward shook his head with wonder. “An unprincipled liar. And here I am one of the most heavily principled men in politics.” Lincoln chuckled. In every way, making allowances for regional differences, Seward’s humor was not unlike his own. “And since you’re a smart man, Governor, you never actually lie. Smart men never have to.”
― Gore Vidal, quote from Lincoln
Gore Vidal
Born place: in West Point, New York, The United States
Born date October 3, 1925
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“He practices his faults, and you practice your bitterness. You are both practicing divorce.”
― Debi Pearl, quote from Created to be His Help Meet
“عندما كنت في بداية العشرينيات أثناء دراستي علم الآثار على يديّ سير جارلز مايرز انتابني شعور بالمتعة والتعمق جعلني أتصور أنّ حياتي بدأت تواً، غير أنّ ذلك الشعور لايوازي الشعور الذي أحس به الآن على نحو مستمر.
إذ أصبح واضحاً أنّ هناك غلطة أساسية ذات علاقة وثيقة بالموجود البشري الاعتيادي، وهي غلطة سخيفة تشبه محاولة ملء حوض سباحة دون إحكام إغلاق فتحة مجراه أو قيادة سيارة مع الاحتفاظ بالكابح اليدوي مرفوعاً. أمرٌ ما يتعيّن بناؤه ليصبح عظيماً يتمّ فقدانه دقيقة فدقيقة. وما أن يتم إدراك هذا الأمر حتى تأخذ المشكلة بالاختفاء، إذ يطفح العقل بشعور فياض من الحيوية والإحكام. وبدلاً من ان تكون الحالات والمشاعر تحت رحمته نسيطر نحن عليها بالسهولة ذاتها التي نسيطر فيها على حركات أيدينا. وبالكاد يستحيل وصف هذه التجربة لشخص لم يسبق له خوض غمار هذه التجربة. إنّ الجنس البشري أصبح معتاداً على الأشياء التي تحدث له فالبشر يصابون بالبرد ويشعرون بالقنوظ يلتقطون شيئاً ثم يرمون به جانباً. كم ينتابهم الإحساس بالسأم.. ولكن ما إن أركّز اهتمامي في عقلي حتى تتوقف هذه الأشياء عن الحدوث، لأنّني الآن أسيطر عليها.”
― Colin Wilson, quote from The Mind Parasites
“I thought I was losing my mind. The only way I knew I was still sane was that I thought I might be going crazy. Surely, that awareness meant I was sane. Crazy people think they're sane. Only sane people can thing they're crazy. I was reduced to taking comfort in a tautology.”
― quote from One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine Officer
“Raimundo Silva entered, said good morning to no one in particular, and sat at a table behind the showcase where the usual tempting delicacies were on display, sponges, mille feuilles, cream cornets, tartlets, rice cakes, mokatines and, those inevitable croissants, in the shape dictated by the French word, a pastry that has risen only to collapse at the first bite and disintegrate until there are nothing but crumbs left on the plate, tiny celestial bodies which the huge wet finger of Allah is lifting to his mouth, then all that remains will be a terrible cosmic void, if being and nothingness are compatible.”
― José Saramago, quote from The History of the Siege of Lisbon
“One of the things is that in times of severe disorder, you can't worry about the dead, only the living.”
― Darren Shan, quote from Demon Thief
Black House
Born of Night
Foundation and Earth
All Fall Down
The Palace of Illusi...
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