Quotes from Stone's Fall

“A company is a moral imbecile. It has no sense of right or wrong. Any restraints have to come from the outside, from laws and customs which forbid it from doing certain things of which we disapprove. But it is a restraint that reduces profits. Which is why all companies will strain forever to break the bounds of the law, to act unfettered in their pursuit of advantage. That is the only way they can survive because the more powerful will devour the weak. And because it is the nature of capital, which is wild, longs to be free and chafes at each and every restriction imposed upon it.”
― Iain Pears, quote from Stone's Fall

“He (William Cort) had some desire to be successful, but it did not burn so strongly in him that he was prepared to overcome his character to achieve it.”
― Iain Pears, quote from Stone's Fall

“As in most obituaries, the author said little about the man; they rarely do. But the reticence here was greater than usual. It mentioned that Ravenscliff left a wife, but did not say when they married. It said nothing at all about his life, nor where he lived. There were not even any of the usual phrases to give a slight hint: ‘a natural raconteur’ (loved the sound of his own voice); ‘Noted for his generosity to friends’ (profligate); ‘a formidable enemy . . .’ (a brute); ‘a severe but fair employer . . .’ (a slave-driver); ‘devoted to the turf’ (never read a book in his life); ‘a life-long bachelor’ (vice); ‘a collector of flowers’ (this meant a great womaniser. Why it came to mean such a thing I do not know.) More browsing”
― Iain Pears, quote from Stone's Fall

“The next day was a dream of such perfection that I have never approached the like again. It was, of course, all illusion, but I like to think of it still in isolation from what came after,as a moment of bliss, one of those days when on is no longer oneself, but becomes bigger, and better, able to overcome the normal preoccupations of life and breathe more freely.”
― Iain Pears, quote from Stone's Fall

“People make the mistake of assuming far too many things about armies,’ Lefevre told me one evening. ‘They assume, for a start, that generals know what they are doing and know what is going on. They assume that orders pass down from top to bottom in a smooth and regulated fashion. And above all they assume that wars start only when people decide to start them.’ ‘You are going to tell me that is not the case?’ ‘Wars begin when they are ready, when humanity needs a bloodletting. Kings and politicians and generals have little say in it. You can feel it in the air when one is brewing. There is a tension and nervousness on the face of the least soldier. They can smell it coming in a way politicians cannot. The desire to hurt and destroy spreads over a region and over the troops. And then the generals can only hope to have the vaguest notion of what they are doing.”
― Iain Pears, quote from Stone's Fall

“Young men of my type are prone to be impatient of details, and give their loyalties without regard to evidence.”
― Iain Pears, quote from Stone's Fall

“The French, I knew, were well ahead in this area, constructing gigantic palaces in the centre of cities which offer every luxury to travellers prepared to pay well to avoid any real contact with the place they were visiting.”
― Iain Pears, quote from Stone's Fall

“creating a void which others seek to fill through conversation.”
― Iain Pears, quote from Stone's Fall

“They respect their betters, and fear those below them.”
― Iain Pears, quote from Stone's Fall

“Comrade Kropotkin has argued in the past that Darwinism is but a reflection of capitalism because it emphasises competition and struggle over cooperation and coexistence. It justifies the exploitation of man by man, and strengthens the class ideology of the oppressors.” “Excellent. So what will be new today?”
― Iain Pears, quote from Stone's Fall

“The rolling sound of a good hymn badly sung is particularly evocative.”
― Iain Pears, quote from Stone's Fall

“A company is a moral imbecile. It has no sense of right or wrong. Any restraints have to come from the outside, from laws and customs which forbid it from doing certain things of which we disapprove. But it is a restraint which reduces profits. Which is why all companies will strain forever to break the bounds of the law, to act unfettered in their pursuit of advantage. That is the only way they can survive because the more powerful will devour the weak. And because it is in the nature of capital, which is wild, longs to be free and chafes at each and every restriction imposed on it.’ ‘You justify selling”
― Iain Pears, quote from Stone's Fall

“Politeness, I learned at her salon, is a demanding discipline; to convince others without recourse to the tricks of the demagogue or bully requires a high level of intelligence, especially when the audience is learned and intelligent.”
― Iain Pears, quote from Stone's Fall

“some were simple idlers spending an inheritance pretending to be poets or painters; and a couple were medical students, who had a wildness of such severity that I would hesitate ever to place myself under their care.”
― Iain Pears, quote from Stone's Fall

“The dance of capital, the harmony of a balance sheet, and the way these abstractions interact with people, their characters and desires, either as individuals or in a mass. Understand that one is the other, that they are two separate ways of expressing the same thing, and you understand the whole nature of business.”
― Iain Pears, quote from Stone's Fall

“Like the aristocracy, you can tell a reporter’s status by his clothes and manners. The worse they are, the higher up they are,”
― Iain Pears, quote from Stone's Fall

“I did not like Ravenscliff by instinct, but I was beginning to find him fascinating. A book-reading, socialist-sympathising, child-begetting capitalist fraud.”
― Iain Pears, quote from Stone's Fall

“I knew salesmen, they made good murderers.”
― Iain Pears, quote from Stone's Fall

“Although I do not need to be surrounded by others in order to feel alive, I do need some conversation and distraction.”
― Iain Pears, quote from Stone's Fall

“But, however splendid a job may seem when one does not have it, it rarely stands up to close acquaintanceship.”
― Iain Pears, quote from Stone's Fall

“I cannot remember a single painting, although I do remember trying hard to be deeply impressed by them at the time.”
― Iain Pears, quote from Stone's Fall

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Popular quotes

“Blind Gods! Hear my words. If there is truth in my art, let what I say be true eternally. The sweat and blood of Naga women built this city, but you banished them. From today, may no woman feel safe in this city. May corrupt and evil people forever rule this wretched place. May every man be possessed with lust – for woman, money, position, prestige, and power. May each man fight another. May brothers butcher brothers and rape their own sisters. Every time a woman steps outside her home, may she feel the fear of violation. Let this be the asylum of evil men and woman. May the high and mighty ever fear for their lives and live in self-imposed jails for security. May the ruled despise their rulers and may the rulers fear the ruled. May this be a city of graveyards. May invaders from across the borders ransack the city repeatedly, changing the roles of oppressor and oppressed without end. May invaders plunder the city of her wealth again and again. May this be a city without trust, a city of anger and violent passions. May the blood of holy men fall here. May her citizens pollute this sacred river, making it into a sewer. May the air be poisonous and the streets filthy and crowded. May this city be damned forever.”
― Anand Neelakantan, quote from Ajaya: Roll of the Dice

“21  And they shall pass through it hardly bestead and hungry; and it shall come to pass that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward.”
― The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, quote from Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price

“I’d always be watching her. And she knew now that she belonged to me. Every breath she took, every step she made, every smile she faked, I’d always be there, watching her, waiting for her.”
― Jaimie Roberts, quote from Deviant

“I'm Mr.Ripped. I live in the gym. My teeth have biceps and my biceps have teeth. I chew up weights and shit out lead bricks”
― Ilona Andrews, quote from White Hot

“I’m a category six,” Jason said. Frances and Kent looked more satisfied by that answer but they knew the Valituras agents would be a constant threat until they were locked behind bars. “We should have a party tonight,” Benjamin suggested.”
― John O'Riley, quote from Inheritance

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