John > John's Quotes

“The great source of both the misery and disorders of human life, seems to arise from over-rating the difference between one permanent situation and another. Avarice over-rates the difference between poverty and riches: ambition, that between a private and a public station: vain-glory, that between obscurity and extensive reputation. The person under the influence of any of those extravagant passions, is not only miserable in his actual situation, but is often disposed to disturb the peace of society, in order to arrive at that which he so foolishly admires. The slightest observation, however, might satisfy him, that, in all the ordinary situations of human life, a well-disposed mind may be equally calm, equally cheerful, and equally contented. Some of those situations may, no doubt, deserve to be preferred to others: but none of them can deserve to be pursued with that passionate ardour which drives us to violate the rules either of prudence or of justice; or to corrupt the future tranquillity of our minds, either by shame from the remembrance of our own folly, or by remorse from the horror of our own injustice.”
― Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments

“Ser Gregor, it went, Dunsen, Polliver, Raff the Sweetling. The Tickler and the Hound. Ser Ilyn, Ser Meryn, King Joffrey, Queen Cersei. She ended it with valar morghulis,”
― George R.R. Martin, A Storm of Swords

“Words are like arrows, Arianne. Once loosed, you cannot call them back.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Feast for Crows

“Such a man deserves a retinue to attend his needs in hell.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Feast for Crows

“How much can a crown be worth, when a crow can dine upon a king?”
― George R.R. Martin, A Feast for Crows

“Do you want to die old and craven in your bed?- How else? Though not till I'm done reading.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Feast for Crows

“The night was rank with the smell of man.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Dance with Dragons

“Dawn. Another day is given us, R’hllor be praised.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Dance with Dragons

“Maybe he had fallen asleep out in the snows and dreamed himself a safe, warm place.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Dance with Dragons

“Oh, Lord of Light, we beseech you, cast your fiery eye upon us and keep us safe and warm,” they sang to the flames, “for the night is dark and full of terrors.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Dance with Dragons

“You know nothing, Jon Snow.”
― George R.R. Martin

“They were all around him, half a dozen of them, white-faced children with dark eyes, boys and girls together. And in their hands, the daggers.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Dance with Dragons

“vanity sets in when you love what you’re selling so much that you assume everyone else will too. You start to believe your idea will sell itself if you can just reach out and tell people about it. You’re wrong.”
― Jonah Sachs, Winning the Story Wars: Why Those Who Tell (and Live) the Best Stories Will Rule the Future

“rebels seem to resist conformity to anything—except perhaps the Apple brand.”
― Jonah Sachs, Winning the Story Wars: Why Those Who Tell (and Live) the Best Stories Will Rule the Future

“People who emphasize extrinsic values show higher levels of prejudice, less concern for human rights, lower levels of behavior to protect the environment, and higher rates of depression.”
― Jonah Sachs, Winning the Story Wars: Why Those Who Tell (and Live) the Best Stories Will Rule the Future

“Be interesting. Tell the truth. And if you can’t tell the truth, change what you’re doing so you can. In other words, live the truth.”
― Jonah Sachs, Winning the Story Wars: Why Those Who Tell (and Live) the Best Stories Will Rule the Future

“Everything you need is already inside.”
― Jonah Sachs, Winning the Story Wars: Why Those Who Tell (and Live) the Best Stories Will Rule the Future

“God is a hack,” he said. “He’s a writer on an awful science fiction television show, and He can’t plot His way out of a box. How do you have faith when you know that?”
― John Scalzi, Redshirts

“How to Leave the Planet 1. Phone NASA. Their phone number is (713) 483-3111. Explain that it’s very important that you get away as soon as possible.”
― Douglas Adams, The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

“He felt that his whole life was some kind of dream and he sometimes wondered whose it was and whether they were enjoying it.”
― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

“Life,” said Marvin dolefully, “loathe it or ignore it, you can’t like it.”
― Douglas Adams

“Perhaps I'm old and tired, but I always think that the chances of finding out what really is going on are so absurdly remote that the only thing to do is to say hang the sense of it and just keep yourself occupied.”
― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

“What does it matter? Science has achieved some wonderful things, of course, but I'd far rather be happy than right any day.”
― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

“Modern society is based on a modern idea: get the work done by replaceable cogs, by individuals programmed to do what they’re told, follow instructions and work cheap. The attraction of this system is evident by how easily ordinary organizations replace ordinary employees, and how eagerly schools indoctrinate their students.”
― Seth Godin, Graceful

“And do we also have, do we have … a party of minor deities from the Halls of Asgard?”
― Douglas Adams, The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

“Yes. I much prefer it here. So much less reputable, so much more fraught.”
― Douglas Adams, The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

“The only life worth living is the adventurous life. Of such a life, the dominant characteristic is that it is unafraid. It is unafraid of what other people think … It does not adapt either its pace or its objectives to the pace and objectives of its neighbors. It thinks its own thoughts, it reads its own books. It develops its own hobbies, and it is governed by its own conscience. The herd may graze where it pleases or stampede where it pleases, but he who lives the adventurous life will remain unafraid when he finds himself alone. Raymond B. Fosdick”
― Jennifer Saunders, Bonkers: My Life in Laughs

“Thumbs down from some twat in a meeting.”
― Jennifer Saunders, Bonkers: My Life in Laughs

“I love a corpse. I love a bit of gruesome.”
― Jennifer Saunders, Bonkers: My Life in Laughs

“After a few years of watching the human species make things unnecessarily difficult for itself I have little hope that it will do anything more than survive and continue its cycle of errors.”
― Octavia E. Butler, Unexpected Stories