"Molgarin shook his head. “Oh dear,” he said. Something worse than cynicism must be abroad if even our aristocracy cannot accept that the rich and powerful may be motivated by purposes beyond acquiring yet more money and increased influence.” He put his head to one side, as though genuinely puzzled. “Can’t you see, Lady Sharrow? Once one has a certain amount of both, one turns to hobbies, or good works or philosophy. Some people become patrons of the arts or charities. Others may—charitably—be said to raise their own lives to the state of art, living as the common herd imagine they would live if they had the chance. And some of us attempt not merely to understand our history, but to influence meaningfully the course of the future.”"
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Horror authorsPoets from ScotlandNovelists from ScotlandShort story writers from ScotlandScience fiction authors from the United Kingdom
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Chapter 23 “All Castles Made Of Sand” (p. 432)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Iain_Banks
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Iain Banks
Iain Menzies Banks (February 16, 1954 – June 9, 2013), officially Iain Banks, was a Scottish writer. As Iain M. Banks he wrote science fiction; as Iain Banks he wrote literary fiction.
306 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Iain Banks →
Related Quotes
"There is a saying that we provide the machines with an end, and they provide us with the means."
"“Tell me, suit, don’t you wonder if it’s all worth it?’ “If what’s all worth what?” it says, and I can hear that cond…"
"I’ve been thinking about the war a lot recently, and I think I’ve decided it’s wrong. We are defeating ourselves in w…"
"We created something a little closer to perfection than ourselves; maybe that’s the only way to progress. Let them tr…"
"“Nothing is sacred to you, Mr. Munro. You base your beliefs on the products of human thought, so it could hardly be o…"
"It’s very nearly 1989 but it’s midnight in the Dark Ages just the thickness of a book away, the thickness of a skull …"
"Reason shapes the future, but superstition infects the present."
"And coincidence convinces the credulous. Two things happen at the same time, or one after another, and we assume ther…"
"Of course they aren’t ready for it, of course we’ll spoil the place. Are they any more ready for World War Three? You…"
"It’s as if I drifted into this situation. I didn’t ever think about fighting or doing anything risky at all, not unti…"