On a Pale Horse Quotes

“Decent folk had to let indecent folk do their thing; that was the paradox of decency.”
― Piers Anthony, On a Pale Horse

“What kind of fool had he been, to throw away romance untried?”
― Piers Anthony, On a Pale Horse

“Man is the one creature on Earth who knows he will die, and that is an appalling intellectual burden.”
― Piers Anthony, On a Pale Horse

“A good notion for a novel is far too precious to waste; it must be caught the moment it flashes into mental view, or it will escape to the brain of some other writer who really doesn’t deserve it.”
― Piers Anthony, On a Pale Horse

“What is life, except an ongoing instinct for survival? Nature uses that instinct to make us perform; otherwise we would all relax, and the species would disappear. Nature is a cruel green mother. The survival instinct is a goad, not a privilege.”
― Piers Anthony, On a Pale Horse

“Come try my strength, you dogs who thought to attack helpless prey! But when you do, O beasts of night, know that you face the Lord of Night. I am Death!”
― Piers Anthony, On a Pale Horse

“Do you seek to bribe Death?” Zane asked, half angry and two-thirds curious.”
― Piers Anthony, On a Pale Horse

“I don’t care how the sin ledger stands. There seem to be a number of artificial standards of good and evil that don’t really relate to true merit or demerit. Maybe the official system of classification has failed to keep up with the changing nature of our society.”
― Piers Anthony, On a Pale Horse

“I have, as may be apparent, not much respect for editors as a class.”
― Piers Anthony, On a Pale Horse

“But I've been dead much longer than I lived, and I have had the chance to educate myself in that that I lacked in life. I wasn't stupid when I lived, just ignorant. There's a lot to learn, simply by watching the follies of the living.”
― Piers Anthony, On a Pale Horse

“Writers pay a lot of attention to wordage, because some publishers seem to care more about length than about quality and will automatically reject novels that don't fit their narrow standards of length - or will chop out extra wordage to make a novel fit.”
― Piers Anthony, On a Pale Horse

“All true art stems from the depths of the unconscious mind.”
― Piers Anthony, On a Pale Horse

“But I have so much to learn!” Zane cried plaintively. “Then get to it, Death,” she said, closing the door behind her.”
― Piers Anthony, On a Pale Horse

“Good intentions were not enough; they had to be rationally implemented.”
― Piers Anthony, On a Pale Horse

“God created the earth but the Devil evolved it.”
― Piers Anthony, On a Pale Horse

“William Henley put it: It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul.”
― Piers Anthony, On a Pale Horse

“I think that man was half-right. He is better off out of the game - but the game may not be better off without him. A man should not exist for himself alone. Life made an investment in him, and that investment was not paid off.”
― Piers Anthony, On a Pale Horse

“Inflation affected everyone uncomfortably, as it was intended to; it was, of course, a work of Satan, who campaigned perpetually and often halfway successfully to make Hell seem better than Earth.”
― Piers Anthony, On a Pale Horse

“How do you like me now?” she inquired archly. He was cautious. “I thought you didn’t really care for me. Why are you making yourself so lovely?” She grimaced prettily. “I told you my deepest sins, and you didn’t reject me. That’s worth something.”
― Piers Anthony, On a Pale Horse

“he found his way to Heaven, which is the last refuge of adequacy.”
― Piers Anthony, On a Pale Horse

“A person has a right to die in his turn. I believe that. But some would call it murder.” “Some would,” the client agreed. “But some are fools.”
― Piers Anthony, On a Pale Horse

“There was a bumper sticker: DEATH IS NATURE’S WAY OF TELLING YOU TO SLOW DOWN.”
― Piers Anthony, On a Pale Horse

“That was the problem with omens; they suggested the fact without suggesting the implication.”
― Piers Anthony, On a Pale Horse

“Speeches of self-justification were seldom worthwhile for any but the speaker.”
― Piers Anthony, On a Pale Horse