---
title: "160 Gene Wolfe Quotes - Famous Writer (The Fifth Head Of Cerberus)"
description: "Gene Wolfe quotes about writing habits, ambiguity, and learning through the craft."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b010/author-gene-wolfe-37289.jpg"
---

![Portrait of Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b010/author-gene-wolfe-37289.jpg)

# Gene Wolfe

(1931–2019)   Writer   United States

 **160** quotes in **576** categories

Gene Wolfe explains that a writer can thrive in a quiet room or by a window, and that he sometimes adds ambiguity to make a story richer. He also says that writing a novel is a learning process that happens while you write, not a skill you can master before starting.

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Gene Wolfe was a writer from the United States, best known for *The Fifth Head Of Cerberus*.

## Quick Facts About Gene Wolfe

Born May 7, 1931

Died April 14, 2019

Nationality United States

Profession Writer

Notable works The Fifth Head Of Cerberus

Known for The Book of the New Sun

## About Gene Wolfe

He was a prolific short‑story writer and novelist who won many literary awards and was honored as a Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.

## Awards & Honors

Nebula Award for Best Novel Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel Prix Tour-Apollo Award World Fantasy Award for Best Novel Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award Edward E. Smith Memorial Award John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel Nebula Award for Best Novella

Show 10 more awards Rhysling Award Premio Gigamesh World Fantasy Award for Best Collection World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement August Derleth Award BSFA Award for Best Novel Locus Award for Best Novella Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame Locus Award for Best Collection Q130744609

##  Quotes by Gene Wolfe

> [“...Every woman is her true age when she sleeps.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/every-woman-is-her-true-age-when-she-sleeps/)

[Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bc/gene-wolfe-2530_every-woman_every-woman-is-her-true-age-when-she-sle_1886869.jpg)

> [What a man knows hardly matters. It is what he does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/what-a-man-knows-hardly-matters-it-is-what-he-does/)

[Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dc/gene-wolfe-2530_doe_what-a-man-knows-hardly-matters-it-is-wh_1530456.jpg)

> [“Time turns our lies into truths.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/time-turns-our-lies-into-truths/)

[Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/)

[Lies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lies/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b6/gene-wolfe-2530_lies_time-turns-our-lies-into-truths-2775979_2775979.jpg)

> [“It is beyond value, which means it is worthless.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/it-is-beyond-value-which-means-it-is-worthless/)

[Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbc/gene-wolfe-2530_quote_it-is-beyond-value-which-means-it-is-wor_1493256.jpg)

> [God is the nest we build together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/god-is-the-nest-we-build-together/)

[Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92e/gene-wolfe-2530_build_god-is-the-nest-we-build-together-282843_2828439.jpg)

> [“Time turns our lies into truth”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/time-turns-our-lies-into-truth/)

[Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/)

[Lies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lies/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8a/gene-wolfe-2530_quote_time-turns-our-lies-into-truth-1980250_1980250.jpg)

> [“Something like that.” “You”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/something-like-that-you/)

[Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a73/gene-wolfe-2530_like_something-like-that-you-2995661_2995661.jpg)

> [“All love that which they destroy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/all-love-that-which-they-destroy/)

[Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddd/gene-wolfe-2530_destroy_all-love-that-which-they-destroy-3164050_3164050.jpg)

> [Online publication is fine with me, in part because I hope to collect those stories later.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/online-publication-is-fine-with-me-in-part-because-i-hope-to-collect/)

[Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fd/gene-wolfe-2530_because_online-publication-is-fine-with-me-in-pa_592869.jpg)

> [Knowledge is soon changed, then lost in the mist, an echo half-heard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/knowledge-is-soon-changed-then-lost-in-the-mist-an-echo-half-heard/)

[Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b68/gene-wolfe-2530_changed_knowledge-is-soon-changed-then-lost-in-t_1656506.jpg)

> [“Reality is a crutch for people who can't handle science fiction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/reality-is-a-crutch-for-people-who-can-t-handle-science-fiction/)

[Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/)

[Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/943/gene-wolfe-2530_reality_reality-is-a-crutch-for-people-who-can-t_1533866.jpg)

> [Hope is a psychological mechanism unaffected by external realities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/hope-is-a-psychological-mechanism-unaffected-by-external-realities/)

[Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/)

[Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b50/gene-wolfe-2530_hope_hope-is-a-psychological-mechanism-unaffe_2648308.jpg)

> [...I rejoiced in the flaws that made her more real to me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/i-rejoiced-in-the-flaws-that-made-her-more-real-to-me/)

[Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/)

[Flaws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flaws/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7e/gene-wolfe-2530_flaws_i-rejoiced-in-the-flaws-that-made-her-mo_641220.jpg)

> [“One of the easiest ways to dominate a man is to demand something he cannot supply.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/one-of-the-easiest-ways-to-dominate-a-man-is-to-demand-something-he/)

[Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/)

[Demand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demand/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed9/gene-wolfe-2530_dominance_one-of-the-easiest-ways-to-dominate-a-ma_872339.jpg)

> [When a gift is deserved, it is not a gift but a payment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/when-a-gift-is-deserved-it-is-not-a-gift-but-a-payment/)

[Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c9/gene-wolfe-2530_payment_when-a-gift-is-deserved-it-is-not-a-gift_1682398.jpg)

> [“Reason shows reason can only bring pain - how wise to forget and be happy again!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/reason-shows-reason-can-only-bring-pain-how-wise-to-forget-and-be/)

[Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/)

[Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1d/gene-wolfe-2530_pain_reason-shows-reason-can-only-bring-pain_1356124.jpg)

> [Weak people believe what is forced on them. Strong people, do what they wish to believe, forcing that to be real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/weak-people-believe-what-is-forced-on-them-strong-people-do-what-they/)

[Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/)

[Being real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-real/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11e/gene-wolfe-2530_being-real_weak-people-believe-what-is-forced-on-th_926359.jpg)

> [All of us... when we think we are talking most intimately to someone else, are actually addressing an image we have of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/all-of-us-when-we-think-we-are-talking-most-intimately-to-someone/)

[Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ae/gene-wolfe-2530_believe_all-of-us-when-we-think-we-are-talking-m_2935245.jpg)

> [“This is what mankind has always wanted... that the environment should respond to human thought. That is the core of magic and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/this-is-what-mankind-has-always-wanted-that-the-environment-should/)

[Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/)

[Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b00/gene-wolfe-2530_dreams_this-is-what-mankind-has-always-wanted-t_936292.jpg)

> [Imagine a man who stands before a mirror; a stone strikes it, and it falls to ruin all in an instant. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/imagine-a-man-who-stands-before-a-mirror-a-stone-strikes-it-and-it/)

[Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c9/gene-wolfe-2530_fall_imagine-a-man-who-stands-before-a-mirror_611117.jpg)

> [You're a materialist, like all ignorant people. But your materialism doesn't make materialism true. Don't you know that? In the final summing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/you-re-a-materialist-like-all-ignorant-people-but-your-materialism/)

[Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d09/gene-wolfe-2530_and-love_you-re-a-materialist-like-all-ignorant-p_875533.jpg)

> [Evolution teaches us the original purpose of language was to ritualize men's threats and curses, his spells to compel the gods; communication…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/evolution-teaches-us-the-original-purpose-of-language-was-to/)

[Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/)

[Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e15/gene-wolfe-2530_communication_evolution-teaches-us-the-original-purpos_1731276.jpg)

> [“For an instant she hesitated. Baldanders said, 'You may trust him. The doctor has his own way of looking at the world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/for-an-instant-she-hesitated-baldanders-said-you-may-trust-him-the/)

[Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e2/gene-wolfe-2530_hesitated_for-an-instant-she-hesitated-baldanders_792006.jpg)

> [“Dorcas’s skin was flecked with little golden freckles, and she was so slender that I was always aware of her bones; yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/dorcas-s-skin-was-flecked-with-little-golden-freckles-and-she-was-so/)

[Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f49/gene-wolfe-2530_quote_dorcas-s-skin-was-flecked-with-little-go_884040.jpg)

> [“I have sometimes thought that the reason the trees are so quiet in the summer is that they are in a sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/i-have-sometimes-thought-that-the-reason-the-trees-are-so-quiet-in/)

[Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/)

[Biologists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biologists/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae0/gene-wolfe-2530_biologists_i-have-sometimes-thought-that-the-reason_2044608.jpg)

> [“Whatever we may say, all of us suffer from disturbed sleep at times. Some in truth hardly sleep, though some who sleep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/whatever-we-may-say-all-of-us-suffer-from-disturbed-sleep-at-times/)

[Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/)

[Awareness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awareness/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97b/gene-wolfe-2530_dreams_whatever-we-may-say-all-of-us-suffer-fro_351179.jpg)

> [We think that we know a man or a woman, when so much of what we know is actually that man's or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/we-think-that-we-know-a-man-or-a-woman-when-so-much-of-what-we-know/)

[Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ad/gene-wolfe-2530_armor_we-think-that-we-know-a-man-or-a-woman-w_2101298.jpg)

> [“If you have a machine with three or four parts, you can shake them up in a box and it's still pretty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/if-you-have-a-machine-with-three-or-four-parts-you-can-shake-them-up/)

[Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/)

[Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ad/gene-wolfe-2530_computers_if-you-have-a-machine-with-three-or-four_1783406.jpg)

> [We choose--or choose not--to be alone when we decide whom we will accept as our fellows, and whom we will reject. Thus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/we-choose-or-choose-not-to-be-alone-when-we-decide-whom-we-will/)

[Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/817/gene-wolfe-2530_accepting_we-choose-or-choose-not-to-be-alone-when_1558708.jpg)

> [I get a lot of people complaining about my ambiguity, often in cases which there is nothing ambigous at all. As far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/i-get-a-lot-of-people-complaining-about-my-ambiguity-often-in-cases/)

[Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/)

[Ambiguity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambiguity/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/008/gene-wolfe-2530_ambiguity_i-get-a-lot-of-people-complaining-about_544211.jpg)

> [Then I could not help wondering what the watching gods thought of us, with our clever masks and our jokes. What we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/then-i-could-not-help-wondering-what-the-watching-gods-thought-of-us/)

[Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/)

[Clever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clever/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bb/gene-wolfe-2530_clever_then-i-could-not-help-wondering-what-the_553380.jpg)

> [“Here is light. You will say that it is not a living entity, but you miss the point that it is more,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/here-is-light-you-will-say-that-it-is-not-a-living-entity-but-you/)

[Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/)

[Kindle fire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kindle-fire/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b5/gene-wolfe-2530_kindle-fire_here-is-light-you-will-say-that-it-is-no_2036643.jpg)

> [ “I would like \[my readers\] to better understand human beings and human life as a result of having read \[my\] stories. I'd… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/i-would-like-my-readers-to-better-understand-human-beings-and-human/)

[Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/)

[Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/010/gene-wolfe-2530_books_i-would-like-my-readers-to-better-unders_1168633.jpg)

> [“The ground recoiled, shocked. The worktable swooped beneath him as though it were a swing whose rope had broken. He turned over,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/the-ground-recoiled-shocked-the-worktable-swooped-beneath-him-as/)

[Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/)

[First step](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-step/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51d/gene-wolfe-2530_first-step_the-ground-recoiled-shocked-the-worktabl_1792060.jpg)

> [“The necropolis has never seemed a city of death to me; I know its purple roses (which other people think so hideous)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/the-necropolis-has-never-seemed-a-city-of-death-to-me-i-know-its/)

[Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/447/gene-wolfe-2530_death_the-necropolis-has-never-seemed-a-city-o_1561190.jpg)

> [You must know the story of how the race of ancient days reached the stars, and how they bargained away all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/you-must-know-the-story-of-how-the-race-of-ancient-days-reached-the/)

[Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/200/gene-wolfe-2530_als_you-must-know-the-story-of-how-the-race_1804545.jpg)

> [“If Thecla had symbolized love of which I felt myself undeserving, as I know now that she did, then did her symbolic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/if-thecla-had-symbolized-love-of-which-i-felt-myself-undeserving-as-i/)

[Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22a/gene-wolfe-2530_last-time_if-thecla-had-symbolized-love-of-which-i_1180908.jpg)

> [“We went into a small, windowless office crowded between two others that appeared empty. A middle-aged American woman was seated behind a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/we-went-into-a-small-windowless-office-crowded-between-two-others/)

[Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/)

[American woman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-woman/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85d/gene-wolfe-2530_american-woman_we-went-into-a-small-windowless-office-c_2742486.jpg)

> [“Just as summer-killed meat draws flies, so the court draws spurious sages, philosophists, and acosmists who remain there as long as their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/just-as-summer-killed-meat-draws-flies-so-the-court-draws-spurious/)

[Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2e/gene-wolfe-2530_common-life_just-as-summer-killed-meat-draws-flies-s_2488663.jpg)

> [Women believe -- or at least often pretend to believe -- that all our tenderness for them springs from desire; that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/women-believe-or-at-least-often-pretend-to-believe-that-all-our/)

[Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d9/gene-wolfe-2530_believe_women-believe-or-at-least-often-pretend_1965020.jpg)

## Gene Wolfe by topic

[Time (19)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/gene-wolfe/) [Books (15)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/gene-wolfe/) [Children (14)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/gene-wolfe/) [Life (12)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/gene-wolfe/) [Death (12)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/gene-wolfe/) [Love (11)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/gene-wolfe/) [Truth (10)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/gene-wolfe/)

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                        "text": "We choose--or choose not--to be alone when we decide whom we will accept as our fellows, and whom we will reject. Thus an eremite in a mountain is in company, because the birds and coneys, the initiates whose words live in his 'forest books,' and the winds--the messengers of the Increate--are his companions. Another man, living in the midst of millions, may be alone, because there are none but enemies and victims around him.",
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                        "text": "I get a lot of people complaining about my ambiguity, often in cases which there is nothing ambigous at all. As far as I can see, people read it when they were half stoned and listening to the TV. Then they come back and say gee, it's impossible to figure out what's going on in a story.",
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                        "text": "Then I could not help wondering what the watching gods thought of us, with our clever masks and our jokes. What we think of crickets, perhaps, whose singing we hear with pleasure, though some of us smash them with our heels when they venture into sight.",
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                        "text": "“Here is light. You will say that it is not a living entity, but you miss the point that it is more, not less. Without occupying space, it fills the universe. It nourishes everything, yet itself feeds upon destruction. We claim to control it, but does it not perhaps cultivate us as a source of food? May it not be that all wood grows so that it can be set ablaze, and that men and women are born to kindle fires?”",
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                        "text": "“I would like [my readers] to better understand human beings and human life as a result of having read [my] stories. I'd like them to feel that this was an experience that made things better for them and an experience that gave them hope. I think that the kind of things that we talk about at this conference -- fantasy very much so, science fiction, and even horror -- the message that we're sending is the reverse of the message sent by what is called \"realistic fiction.\" (I happen to think that realistic fiction is not, in fact, realistic, but that's a side issue.) And what we are saying is that it doesn't have to be like this: things can be different. Our society can be changed. Maybe it's worse, maybe it's better. Maybe it's a higher civilization, maybe it's a barbaric civilization. But it doesn't have to be the way it is now. Things can change. And we're also saying things can change for you in your life. Look at the difference between Severian the apprentice and Severian the Autarch [in The Book of the New Sun], for example. The difference beteween Silk as an augur and Silk as calde [in The Book of the Long Sun]. You see? We don't always have to be this. There can be something else. We can stop doing the thing that we're doing. Moms Mabley had a great line in some movie or other -- she said, \"You keep on doing what you been doing and you're gonna keep on gettin' what you been gettin'.\" And we don't have to keep on doing what we've been doing. We can do something else if we don't like what we're gettin'. I think a lot of the purpose of fiction ought to be to tell people that.”",
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                        "text": "“The ground recoiled, shocked. The worktable swooped beneath him as though it were a swing whose rope had broken. He turned over, grinding his belly against the table, holding the sides with his outstretched hands to kill the fear. The figure was standing now, and his feet held the ground flatly, directly on the damp, breathing earth. As trees do, he sought strength with grasping, rock-splitting notes. The first step shook the earth almost as the standing had. After”",
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                        "text": "“The necropolis has never seemed a city of death to me; I know its purple roses (which other people think so hideous) shelter hundreds of small animals and birds. The executions I have seen performed and have performed myself so often are no more than a trade, a butchery of human beings who are for the most part less innocent and less valuable than cattle. When I think of my own death, or the death of someone who has been kind to me, or even of the death of the sun, the image that comes to my mind is that of the nenuphar, with its glossy, pale leaves and azure flower. Under flower and leaves are black roots as fine and strong as hair, reaching down into the dark waters.”",
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                        "text": "You must know the story of how the race of ancient days reached the stars, and how they bargained away all the wild half of themselves to do so, so that they no longer cared for the taste of the pale wind, no for love or lust, nor to make new songs nor to sing old ones, nor for any of the other animal things they believed they had brought with them out of the rain forests al the bottom of time--though in fact, so my uncle told me, those things brought them",
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                        "text": "“If Thecla had symbolized love of which I felt myself undeserving, as I know now that she did, then did her symbolic force disappear when I locked the door of her cell behind me? That would be like saying that the writing of this book, over which I have labored for so many watches, will vanish in a blur of vermillion when I close it for the last time and dispatch it to the eternal library maintained by the old Ultan. The great question then, that I pondered as I watched the floating island with longing eyes and chafed at my bonds and cursed the hetman in my heart, is that of determining what these symbols mean in and of themselves. We are like children who look at print and see a serpent in the last letter but one, and a sword in the last.”",
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                        "text": "“We went into a small, windowless office crowded between two others that appeared empty. A middle-aged American woman was seated behind a metal desk. She appeared normal and reasonably attractive until she spoke; then her scarred gums showed that she had once had two or three times the proper number of teeth—forty or fifty, I suppose, in each jaw—and that the dental surgeon who had extracted the supernumerary ones had not always, perhaps, selected those he suffered to remain as wisely as he might.”",
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                        "text": "“Just as summer-killed meat draws flies, so the court draws spurious sages, philosophists, and acosmists who remain there as long as their purses and their wits will maintain them, in the hope (at first) of an appointment from the Autarch and (later) of obtaining a tutorial position in some exalted family. At sixteen or so, Thecla was attracted, as I think young women often are, to their lectures on theogony, thodicy, and the like, and I recall one particularly in which a phoebad put forward as an ultimate truth the ancient sophistry of the existence of three Adonai, that of the city (or of the people), that of the poets, and that of the philosophers. Her reasoning was that since the beginning of human consciousness (if such a beginning ever was) there have been vast numbers of persons in the three categories who have endeavored to pierce the secret of the divine. If it does not exist, they should have discovered that long before; if it does, it is not possible that Truth itself should mislead them. Yet the beliefs of the populace, the insights of the rhapsodists, and the theories of the metaphysicians have so far diverged that few of them can so much as comprehend what the others say, and someone who knew nothing of any of their ideas might well believe there was no connection at all between them. May it not be, she asked (and even now I am not certain I can answer), that instead of traveling, as has always been supposed, down three roads to the same destination, they are actually traveling toward three quite different ones? After all, when in common life we behold three roads issuing from the same crossing, we do not assume they all proceed toward the same goal. I found (and find) this suggestion as rational as it is repellent, and it represents for me all that monomaniacal fabric of argument, so tightly woven that not even the tiniest objection or spark of light can escape its net, in which human minds become enmeshed whenever the subject is one in which no appeal to fact is possible. As a fact the Claw was thus an incommensurable. No quantity of money, no piling up of archipelagoes or empires could approach it in value any more than the indefinite multiplication of horizontal distance could be made to equal vertical distance. If it was, as I believed, a thing from outside the universe, then its light, which I had seen shine faintly so often, and a few times brightly, was in some sense the only light we had. If it were destroyed, we were left fumbling in the dark.”",
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                        "text": "Women believe -- or at least often pretend to believe -- that all our tenderness for them springs from desire; that we love them when we have not for a time enjoyed them, and dismiss them when we are sated, or to express it more precisely, exhausted. There is no truth in this idea, though it may be made to appear true. When we are rigid with desire, we are apt to pretend a great tenderness in the hope of satisfying that desire; but at no other time are we in fact so liable to treat women brutally, and so unlikely to feel any deep emotion but one.",
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