"War must be, while we defend our lives against a destroyer who would devour all; but I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend."
— J.R.R. Tolkien (The Two Towers)

"If you can walk with the crowd and keep your virtue, or walk with Kings-nor lose the common touch; If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you; If all men count with you, but none too much; If you can fill the unforgiving minute with 60 seconds worth of distance run- Yours is the earth and everything that's in it, And-which is more-you'll be a man my son."
— Rudyard Kipling (If: A Father's Advice to His Son)

"It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather, we should thank God that such men lived."
— George S. Patton Jr.

"Looked into the sky, heavy with smoke and human fat, and God was not there. The cold, suffocating dark goes on forever, and we are alone. It is not God that kills the children, not fate the butchers them, nor destiny that feeds them to the dogs. It's us. Only us."
— Alan Moore (Watchmen)

"You can not lead a battle if you think you look silly on a horse."
— Napoleon Bonaparte

"Pacifism is objectively pro-fascist. This is elementary common sense. If you hamper the war effort of one side, you automatically help out that of the other. Nor is there any real way of remaining outside such a war as the present one. In practice, 'he that is not with me is against me'."
— George Orwell

"I am a war president."
— George W. Bush

"Commander Harken: Seems odd you'd name your ship after a battle you were on the wrong side of.
Malcolm Reynolds: May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one. ('Firefly')
"
— Tim Minear

"We have done the impossible. And that makes us mighty."
— Mal Reynolds

"Uh, hey, I got a idea. Instead of us hanging around playing art critic 'til I get pinched by the man, how's about we move away from this eerie-ass piece of work, and get on with our increasingly eerie-ass day. How's that?"
— Jayne Cobb

"Doctor, I'm taking your sister under my protection if any thing happens to her I swear to you I will get very choked up. Honestly there might be tears."
— Joss Whedon (Firefly Official Companion, Vol. 1)

"This is the captain we have a little problem with our entry sequence so we may experiance some slight turbulance, then explode."
— Joss Whedon (Serenity Official Visual Companion)

"Way I remember it, albatross was a ship's good luck...'til some idiot killed it. Yes, I've read a poem. Try not to faint."
— Joss Whedon (Serenity Official Visual Companion)

"Take my love, take my land
Take me where I cannot stand
I don’t care, I’m still free
You can’t take the sky from me
Take me out to the black
Tell them I ain’t comin’ back
Burn the land and boil the sea
You can’t take the sky from me
There’s no place I can be
Since I found Serenity
But you can’t take the sky from me…"
— Joss Whedon (Those Left Behind)

"Mal: "Ain't all buttons and charts, little albatross. Know what the first rule of flying is? Well I s'pose you do, since you already know what I'm 'bout to say."

River: "I do. But I like to hear you say it."

Mal: "Love. Can know all the math in the 'verse but take a boat in the air that you don't love? She'll shake you off just as sure as a turn in the worlds. Love keeps her in the air when she oughtta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home."

"
— Serenity

"People love a happy ending. So every episode, I will explain once again that I don't like people. And then Mal will shoot someone. Someone we like. And their puppy."
— Joss Whedon

"Remember to always be yourself. Unless you suck."
— Joss Whedon

"Half of writing history is hiding the truth"
— Joss Whedon

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the road less traveled by and they CANCELLED MY FRIKKIN' SHOW. I totally shoulda took the road that had all those people on it. Damn."
— Joss Whedon

"Every day's a negotiation and sometimes it's done with guns."
— Joss Whedon

"I'll take crazy over stupid any day."
— Joss Whedon

"Very occasionally, if you pay really close attention, life doesn't suck."
— Joss Whedon

""Passion. It lies in all of us. Sleeping ... waiting ... and though unwanted, unbidden, it will stir ... open its jaws and howl. It speaks to us ... guides us. Passion rules us all. And we obey. What other choice do we have? Passion is the source of our finest moments. The joy of love ... the clarity of hatred ... the ecstasy of grief. It hurts sometimes more than we can bear. If we could live without passion, maybe we'd know some kind of peace. But we would be hollow. Empty rooms, shuttered and dank. Without passion, we'd be truly dead." "
— Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

"Recognizing power in another does not diminish your own."
— Joss Whedon

"Humor keeps us alive. Humor and food. Don't forget food. You can go a week without laughing."
— Joss Whedon

"The thing about a hero, is even when it doesn't look like there's a light at the end of the tunnel, he's going to keep digging, he's going to keep trying to do right and make up for what's gone before, just because that's who he is."
— Joss Whedon

"The world is a mess and I just need to rule it."
— Joss Whedon

"'Sometimes people are layered like that. There’s something totally different underneath than what’s on the surface.'

'And sometimes there’s a third even deeper level and that’s the same as the top surface one.'

'Huh?'

'Like with pie.'"
— Joss Whedon

"Don't give me songs, give me something to sing about!"
— Joss Whedon (Once More with Feeling)