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You are all so sure that the lesser animals are bleeding with envy because they didn’t have the good fortune to be born homo sapiens.”
“The proper study of mankind is man.”
And for every framling scientist who is longing for the truth, there are ten petty-minded descabeçados [headless ones] who despise knowledge, who never think of an original hypothesis, whose only labor is to prey on the writings of the true scientists in order to catch tiny errors or contradictions or lapses in method.
“No human being, when you understand his desires, is worthless. No one’s life is nothing. Even the most evil of men and women, if you understand their hearts, had some generous act that redeems them, at least a little, from their sins.”
“Pinocchio was such a dolt to try to become a real boy. He was much better off with a wooden head.”
Marriage is a covenant between a man and woman on the one side and their community on the other.
“You’re so busy pretending to believe them, there isn’t a chance in the world you could learn anything from them.”
what he destroyed was illusion, and the illusion had to die.
this ancient man is able to see the truth and it doesn’t blind his eyes or drive him mad. I must listen to this voice and let its power come to me so I, too, can stare at the light and not die.
if we allow only perfect people to enforce the law, the law will soon be dead,
Only one rabbi dared to expect of us such a perfect balance that we could preserve the law and still forgive the deviation. So, of course, we killed him.
But now, if you’re to be a true follower of the Master, you will forgive her and let her see that you love her more than ever, because now you understand her suffering.”
I think you can’t possibly know the truth about somebody unless you love them.
Both of them have a higher allegiance to their own conscience than to the rules others set down for them. It’s a failing, if your object is to maintain order, but if your goal is to learn and adapt, it’s a virtue.”
When you really know somebody, you can’t hate them.” “Or maybe it’s just that you can’t really know them until you stop hating them.”
Science refuses to admit any cause except first cause—knock down one domino, the one next to it also falls. But when it comes to human beings, the only type of cause that matters is final cause, the purpose. What a person had in mind. Once you understand what people really want, you can’t hate them anymore. You can fear them, but you can’t hate them, because you can always find the same desires in your own heart.”
I knew my enemy. That’s how I beat her, the hive queen, I knew her so well that I loved her, or maybe I loved her so well that I knew her. I didn’t want to fight her anymore. I wanted to quit. I wanted to go home. So I blew up her planet.”
We believe it enough to act as though it’s true. When we’re that sure, we call it knowledge. Facts. We bet our lives on it.”
“No,” said Ender. “It’d be like him passing from his second life to his third.” “That’s like dying, too,” said Olhado. “It’s also like being born,” said Ender. “As long as you keep getting born, it’s all right to die sometimes.”
“I can probably die now,” said Ender. “All my life’s work is done.” “Mine too,” said Novinha. “But I think that means that it’s time to start to live.”
