“It is no use to blame the looking glass if your face is awry.”
― Nikolai Gogol, quote from The Inspector General
“What are you laughing at? You are laughing at yourself.”
― Nikolai Gogol, quote from The Inspector General
“GOVERNOR. And then I must call your attention to the history teacher. He has a lot of learning in his head and a store of facts. That's evident. But he lectures with such ardor that he quite forgets himself. Once I listened to him. As long as he was talking about the Assyrians and Babylonians, it was not so bad. But when he reached Alexander of Macedon, I can't describe what came over him. Upon my word, I thought a fire had broken out. He jumped down from the platform, picked up a chair and dashed it to the floor. Alexander of Macedon was a hero, it is true. But that's no reason for breaking chairs. The state must bear the cost.”
― Nikolai Gogol, quote from The Inspector General
“The more debris there is the more it will show the governor's activity.”
― Nikolai Gogol, quote from The Inspector General
“You can always tell a pig by its grunt.”
― Nikolai Gogol, quote from The Inspector General
“Alcalde:
Lo mismo debo hacerle notar con respecto al maestro de historia. Es un sabio (eso es evidente, sabe mucho), pero se expresa con tanta vehemencia, que se olvida de todo. Días pasados lo estuve escuchando. Mientras hablaba de los asirios y los babilonios, todo iba bien, pero cuando llegó a Alejandro el Grande lo que pasó no tiene nombre. ¡Creí que se había incendiado el aula, se lo juro! ¡Bajó corriendo de la tarima y empezó a golpear furiosamente el suelo con la silla! Claro está que Alejandro el Grande es un héroe, pero... ¿a qué romper las sillas? Eso perjudica al fisco.
Luká Lúkich:
¡Sí, es muy vehemente! Ya se lo he hecho notar varias veces... Y me contestó: «¿Qué quiere que haga? ¡Yo daría la vida por la ciencia!»”
― Nikolai Gogol, quote from The Inspector General
“He won’t talk, he won’t tell me. I just don’t understand how someone can be so happy one week and then so miserable the next. I know it’s all about the chemicals in his brain but surely we’re more than just fluctuating chemicals…”
“Of course we are,” Sophie says. “There is still so much we don’t understand about the brain.”
“Sometimes I think it’s just him,” I say. “I know this sounds really mean, but sometimes I think that he could control it if he wanted to, because we all have good days and bad days, don’t we?”
“Yes, but we don’t all start throwing paint around when we’re having a good day and stay in bed when we’re having a bad day. We might feel like doing those things” – Sophie smiles – “but we don’t. That, I suppose, is the difference.”
― Tabitha Suzuma, quote from A Voice in the Distance
“Maybe all the secrets of life were written on the surface of leaves, waiting to be translated. If I touched them long enough, I might be given some information no one else had.”
― Silas House, quote from A Parchment of Leaves
“Kid, let me tell you something. Most people spend their short time in this world less than half alive. They wander through their days in a haze of responsibility and resentment. Something happens to them not long after they're born. They get conflicted about what they want and start worshiping the wrong gods. Should. Mercy. Equality. Altruism. There's nothing you should do. Do what you want. Mercy isn't Nature's way. She's an equal opportunity killer. We aren't born the same. Some are stronger, faster. Never apologize for it. Altruism is an impossible concept. There's no action you can make that doesn't spring from how you want to feel about yourself.”
― Karen Marie Moning, quote from Iced
“Here's a tip though', he told me, leaning over and pressing a hand into my shoulder. 'If you want to improve your time, run faster.”
― John Boyne, quote from Noah Barleywater Runs Away
“Do you prefer to be on top or bottom?”
“I prefer whatever makes you yell louder when I fuck you harder than you’ve ever been fucked.”
― Vi Keeland, quote from Belong to You
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