Favorite quotes from literature.

[Something completely different]

I`ll start this with a joke out of James Joyce`s novel Ulysses:

Why has there never been antisemetism in Ireland?

Because the Irish never let the jews in in the first place.

[Faith No More]

Well, the Hitchhiker's series is veritable gold mine of great quotes, but here's a good one for starters...

This planet has - or rather had - a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movement of small green pieces of paper, which was odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy.

[pineapplebunnybounce]

This proves two things:

Firstly, that God moves in extremely mysterious, not to say, circuitous ways. God does not play dice with the universe; He plays an ineffable game of His own devising, which might be compared, from the perspective of any of the other players, [ie., everybody.] to being involved in an obscure and complex version of poker in a pitch-dark room, with blank cards, for infinite stakes, with a Dealer who won't tell you the rules, and who smiles all the time.

Secondly, the Earth's a Libra.

Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch.

If you haven't read this already, it's a very funny book about the end of the world, as prophesized by the bible, except the angel and devil stationed on earth have grown to like earth so much they conspire together to stop the apocalypse.

[GothicLitGeek]

Even as a gay man I find something intensely erotic about this description from Dracula.

“There was a deliberate voluptuousness that was both thrilling and repulsive.
And as she arched her neck she actually licked her lips like an animal till I could see in the moonlight the moisture
Then lapped the white, sharp teeth.
Lower and lower went her head. I closed my eyes in a languorous ecstasy and waited. ”
― Bram Stoker, Dracula

[Minimalist]

"So it goes." Kurt Vonnegut.

[Whateverist]

"So it goes." Kurt Vonnegut.

And, once again, the Pithy Award goes to Min.

[Doubting Thomas]

Even as a gay man I find something intensely erotic about this description from Dracula.

“There was a deliberate voluptuousness that was both thrilling and repulsive.
And as she arched her neck she actually licked her lips like an animal till I could see in the moonlight the moisture
Then lapped the white, sharp teeth.
Lower and lower went her head. I closed my eyes in a languorous ecstasy and waited. ”
― Bram Stoker, Dracula

I know I need a cold shower now. Been a while since I read that book, might have to dig it back out.

[Tonus]

Almost anything by Stephen Crane.

In the desert
I saw a creature, naked, bestial,
Who, squatting upon the ground,
Held his heart in his hands,
And ate of it.
I said, “Is it good, friend?”
“It is bitter—bitter,” he answered;

“But I like it
“Because it is bitter,
“And because it is my heart.”

[Whateverist]

I myself will attempt to garner the Most Verbose award.

“When the mystery of the connection goes, love goes. It's that simple. This suggests that it isn't love that is so important to us but the mystery itself. The love connection may be merely a device to put us in contact with the mystery, and we long for love to last so that the ecstacy of being near the mystery will last. It is contrary to the nature of mystery to stand still. Yet it's always there, somewhere, a world on the other side of the mirror (or the Camel pack), a promise in the next pair of eyes that smile at us. We glimpse it when we stand still.
The romance of new love, the romance of solitude, the romance of objecthood, the romance of ancient pyramids and distant stars are means of making contact with the mystery. When it comes to perpetuating it, however, I got no advice. But I can and will remind you of two of the most important facts I know:
1. Everything is part of it.
2. It's never too late to have a happy childhood.”

― Tom Robbins, Still Life With Woodpecker

But there is also a better known pithy quote in that book.

“There are two kinds of people in this world: Those who believe there are two kinds of people in this world and those who are smart enough to know better.”

[jots]

“In the realm of the unknown, difficulties must be viewed as a hidden treasure! Usually, the more difficult, the better. It's not as valuable if your difficulties stem from your own inner struggle. But when difficulties arise out of increasing objective resistance, that's marvelous!”
― Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, The First Circle