Alan Lightman Quotes

65 quotes in 1225 categories

• Human beings consider themselves satisfied only compared to some other condition. A man who has owned nothing but a bicycle all of his life feels… All
• Is it possible for a person to love without wanting love back? Is anything so pure? Or is love, by its nature, a reciprocity, like… Clouds
• The tragedy of this world is that no one is happy, whether stuck in atime of pain or of joy. The tragedy of this world… Alone
• A world in which time is absolute is a world of consolation. For while the movements of people are unpredictable, the movement of time is… Absolute
• For it is only habit and memory that dulls the physical passion. Without memory, each night is the first night, each morning is the first… Dulls
• Such is the cost of immortality. No person is whole. No person is free. Over time, some have determined that the only way to live… Cost
• A person who cannot imagine the future is a person who cannot contemplate the results of his actions. Some are thus paralyzed into inaction. Action
• In this world, time has three dimensions, like space. Just as an object may move in three perpendicular directions, corresponding to horizontal, vertical, and longitudinal,… Corresponding
• Imagine a world in which there is no time. Only images. Images
• Who would fare better in this world of fitful time? Those who have seen the future and live only one life? Or those who have… Better
• But what is the past? Could it be, the firmness of the past is just illusion? Could the past be a kaleidoscope, a pattern of… Breeze
• It is a world of impulse. It is a world of sincerity. It is a world in which every word spoken speaks just to that… Each
• While people brood, time skips ahead without looking back. Ahead
• Some make light of decisions, arguing that all possible decisions will occur. In such a world, how could one be responsible for his actions? Others… Action
• Unconditional love. That’s what he wants to give her and what he wants from her. People should give without wanting anything in return. All other… All
• -But rational thoughts lead only to rational thoughts, whereas irrational thoughts lead to new experiences. Experiences
• In a world of fixed future, life is an infinite corridor of rooms, one room lit at each moment, the next room dark but prepared.… Ahead
• Events, once happened, lose reality, alter with a glance, a storm, a night. In time, the past never happened. But who could know? Who could… Alter
• In this world, there are two times. There is mechanical time and there is body time." "They do not keep clocks in their houses. Instead,… Appointments
• And at the place where time stands still, one sees lovers kissing in the shadows of buildings, in a frozen embrace that will never let… Afar

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