Home is the first refuge from – and last defense against – the disappointments and the terrors of life.
Most universities are no longer temples of knowledge, but of power, and true moderns worship there.
What we do as a society is seek simple answers.
In misfortune lies the seed of future triumph.
Death lies dormant in each of us and will bloom in time.
This world, which has the potential to be Eden, is instead the hell before Hell. In our arrogance, we have made it so.
Humanity was drawn to turmoil and self-destruction as inevitably as the earth was drawn to complete its annual revolution of the sun.
The true nature of the world was weirder than any bizarre fabric that anyone might weave from the warp and weft of imagination’s loom.
Recognizing the structure of your psychology doesn’t mean that you can easily rebuild it.
If your work is deathwork, one weapon is not enough, just as a plumber would not answer an urgent service call with a single wrench.
Life packed a clever one-two punch: cruelty and absurdity.
Ignorance isn’t bliss, but sometimes ignorance makes it possible for us to sleep at night.
Every expression of desired friendship has potential bite. Every smile reveals the teeth.
You have to stop worrying about looking foolish, ’cause fear of being humiliated really limits you.
I don’t mean to imply that I’m afraid of Death. I’m just not ready to go out on a date with him.
Nearly everything that was fun, of course, was also a little dangerous: riding roller coasters, skydiving, gambling, sex.
We are an arrogant species, full of terrible potential, but we also have a great capacity for love, friendship, generosity, kindness, faith, hope, and joy.
From time to time, I do consider that I might be mad. Like any self-respecting lunatic, however, I am always quick to dismiss any doubts about my sanity.
Not all popular novelists are good, but all good novelists are, sooner or later, popular.
Whiskers of the cat, Webbed toes on my swimming dog; God is in the details.