“My dear fellow,' Burlingame said, 'we sit here on a blind rock careening through space; we are all of us rushing headlong to the grave. Think you the worms will care, when anon they make a meal of you, whether you spent your moment sighing wigless in your chamber, or sacked the golden towns of Montezuma? Lookee, the day's nigh spent; 'tis gone careening into time forever. Not a tale's length past we lined our bowels with dinner, and already they growl for more. We are dying men, Ebenezer: i'faith, there's time for naught but bold resolves!”
― John Barth, quote from The Sot-Weed Factor
“All men are loyal, but their objects of allegiance are at best approximate.”
― John Barth, quote from The Sot-Weed Factor
“Is man a savage at heart, skinned o'er with fragile Manners? Or is savagery but a faint taint in the natural man's gentility, which erupts now and again like pimples on an angel's arse?”
― John Barth, quote from The Sot-Weed Factor
“The difference here 'twixt simple and witty folk, if the truth be known, is that your plain man cares much for what stand ye take and not a fart for why ye take it, while your smart wight leaves ye whate'er stand ye will, sobeit ye defend it cleverly.”
― John Barth, quote from The Sot-Weed Factor
“... a man's most useful friend and fearsome foe is the poet.”
― John Barth, quote from The Sot-Weed Factor
“Ah, God, it were an easy Matter to choose a Calling had
one all Time to live in! I should be fifty Years a
Barrister, fifty a Physician, fifty a Clergyman, fifty a
Soldier! Aye, and fifty a Thief, and fifty a Judge! All
Roads are fine Roads, beloved Sister, none more than
another, so that with one Life to spend I am a Man
bare-bumm'd at Taylors with Cash for but one pair of
Breeches, or a Scholar at Brookstalls with Money for a
single Book: to choose ten were no Trouble; to choose one,
impossible! All Trades, all Crafts, all Professions are
wondrous, but none is finer than the rest together. I
cannot choose, sweet Anna: twixt Stools my Breech falleth
to the Ground!”
― John Barth, quote from The Sot-Weed Factor
John Barth
Born place: in Cambridge, Maryland, The United States
Born date May 27, 1930
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“I mean you're only 26 in couple of days, although, you are now officially closer to thirty than twenty!”
― Ali Harris, quote from The First Last Kiss
“Better to stop one paddle short than one too far.”
― Suzanne Woods Fisher, quote from A Lancaster County Christmas
“If Christians around the world were to suddenly renounce their personal agendas, their life goals and their aspirations, and begin responding in radical obedience to everything God showed them. the world would be turned upside down. How do we know? Because that's what first century Christians did, and the world is still talking about it.”
― Henry T. Blackaby, quote from Spiritual Leadership: Moving People on to God's Agenda
“O halde cesaretimi ve çalışkanlığımı kanıtlayıp övgünüze mazhar olduğuma göre, şimdi sağduyumu kanıtlamama ne dersiniz? Ama haklı olarak ateşle su bir arada durmaz diyebilirsiniz. Gerçekten bu konuda da başarılı olacağıma inanıyorum, siz yeter ki daha önce yaptığınız gibi bana kulak verin ve dikkatinizi eksik etmeyin. Her şeyden önce, sağduyu deneyimle gelişiyorsa, sağduyulu unvanını en çok kim hak ediyor acaba, kah utangaçlığından kah korkaklığından hiçbir şeye girişemeyen bilge mi, yoksa utangaçlık nedir bilmeyen ve tehlike denen şey üzerine hiç kafa yormadığından hiçbir şeyden korkup çekinmeyen deli mi? Bilge, Eskilerin kitaplarına sığınır, buralardan eskilerin söylediği salt ayrıntıları öğrenir. Ama deli hiç düşünmeden tehlikelerin üstüne atılarak, yanıldığımı hiç sanmıyorum, gerçek sağduyuyu edinir. Bana öyle geliyor ki, kör olmasına rağmen Homeros, deli bile yaşadıklarından sonra bilge kesilir derken bu gerçeği görmüştü. Çünkü olayları yaşayarak öğrenmenin önünde iki büyük engel vardır, ilke zihne bir sis perdesi çeken utanç; ikincisi, tehlikeli olduğu açıkça görünen olayların üstüne gitmekten alıkoyan korku. Delilik bizi bu engellerden muhteşem şekilde kurtarır.”
― Erasmus, quote from Praise of Folly
“Sometimes things that are worth having are worth fixing up. Not everything comes in perfect condition, but it doesn’t mean it’s not the right one for you.”
― Dannika Dark, quote from Seven Years
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Reasons I Fell for t...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.
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