Ishmael (Ishmael, #1)

by Daniel Quinn

“Here it is: What the gods provide is enough for your life as animals—I grant you that. But for your life as humans, you must provide. The gods are not going to do that.”

We have a new pair of names for you. The Takers are those who know good and evil, and the Leavers are…?” “The Leavers are those who live in the hands of the gods.”

The premise of the Taker story is the world belongs to man.”

The premise of the Leaver story is man belongs to the world.”

“I think what you’re groping for is that people need more than to be scolded, more than to be made to feel stupid and guilty. They need more than a vision of doom. They need a vision of the world and of themselves that inspires them.”

“The creatures who act as though they belong to the world follow the peace-keeping law, and because they follow that law, they give the creatures around them a chance to grow toward whatever it’s possible for them to become.

“Then here is a program: The story of Genesis must be reversed. First, Cain must stop murdering Abel. This is essential if you’re to survive. The Leavers are the endangered species most critical to the world—not because they’re humans but because they alone can show the destroyers of the world that there is no one right way to live. And then, of course, you must spit out the fruit of that forbidden tree. You must absolutely and forever relinquish the idea that you know who should live and who should die on this planet.”

“What you’re saying is that someone has to stand up and become to the world of today what Saint Paul was to the Roman Empire.”

THERE IS ONE SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE between the inmates of your criminal prisons and the inmates of your cultural prison: The former understand that the distribution of wealth and power inside the prison has nothing to do with justice.”