Quotes from Nightfall

Isaac Asimov ·  339 pages

Rating: (24.3K votes)


“Life would be impossible on such a planet. It wouldn't get enough heat and light, and if it rotated there would be total darkness half of every day. There wouldn't be any native inhabitants. You couldn't expect life---which is fundamentally dependent on light---to develop under such extreme conditions of light deprivation. Half of every axial rotation spent in Darkness! No, nothing could exist under conditions like that.”
― Isaac Asimov, quote from Nightfall


“It was a long time since he'd done any actual clinical work, and obviously his sojourn among the academics at Saro University had attenuated the professional detachment that allows members of the healing arts to confront the ill without being overwhelmed by compassion and sorrow. He was surprised at that, how tenderhearted he seemed to have become, how thin-skinned.”
― Isaac Asimov, quote from Nightfall


“It's one thing to predict [the complete breakdown of civilization]. It's something else again to be right in the middle of it. It's a very humbling thing...for an academic like me to find his abstract theories turning into concrete reality... It was all just so many words to me, really, just a philosophical exercise, completely abstract.”
― Isaac Asimov, quote from Nightfall


“[The theory of universal gravitation] is not cast-iron. No theory is, and there is always room for improvement. Isn't that so? Science is constructed out of approximations that gradually approach the truth. . . Well, that means all theories are subject to constant testing and modification, doesn't it? And if it eventually turns out that they're not quite close enough to the truth, they need to be replaced by something that's closer. Right?”
― Isaac Asimov, quote from Nightfall


“So the universe is not quite as you thought it was. You’d better rearrange your beliefs, then. Because you certainly can’t rearrange the universe.”
― Isaac Asimov, quote from Nightfall



About the author

Isaac Asimov
Born place: in Petrovichi, Russian Federation
Born date January 2, 1920
See more on GoodReads

Popular quotes

“...Wizard's Fifth Rule: Mind what people do, not only what they say, for deeds will betray a lie.”
― Terry Goodkind, quote from Soul of the Fire


“How do people come up with a date and a time to take life from another man? Who made them God?”
― Ernest J. Gaines, quote from A Lesson Before Dying


misgivings, n.

Last night, I got up the courage to ask you if you regretted us.
"There are things I miss," you said. "But if I didn't have you, I'd miss more.”
― David Levithan, quote from The Lover's Dictionary


“He gave her a slight, tight-lipped smile. The smile he typically gave people before he ate them alive.”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, quote from Shadows


“I never meant to bring all of it upon you. Surely you understand that. I have loved you and admired you all my life. You are the only true hero I have. I owe you everything.'
Lizzie reached out and stripped leaves off a twig. 'You always wanted to do something big. Something important.'
'Is that such a terrible thing? You're the one who told me once that the world can't forgive ambition in a woman.'
'I never got to find out. My ambitions never seemed to figure into things. You were away at the university when Mother got sick, so it fell to Jessie and me. And you were already married by the time Jessie passed. Your life was set. Suddenly there was a niece to raise, and then...' Lizzie paused. ' Then you had your personality to go discover.' She tossed away a fistful of leaves. 'You had everything. You had a wonderful man who adored you, beautiful healthy children. Freedom. No money worries. A nanny and a housekeeper. You didn't have to work, and Edwin never asked a thing of you. Do you realize what you gave up for Frank Wright? The kind of life most women-- most feminists-- dream of.”
― Nancy Horan, quote from Loving Frank


Interesting books

Oathbreakers
(13.6K)
Oathbreakers
by Mercedes Lackey
The Message Remix (Bible in Contemporary Language)
(6.5K)
The Message Remix (B...
by Eugene H. Peterson
Young Men and Fire
(4.1K)
Young Men and Fire
by Norman Maclean
The Bus Driver Who Wanted to be God & Other Stories
(4.9K)
The Bus Driver Who W...
by Etgar Keret
Resurrection Men
(8.1K)
Resurrection Men
by Ian Rankin
The Toilers of the Sea
(2.5K)
The Toilers of the S...
by Victor Hugo

About BookQuoters

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.