"“As the Takers see it, the gods gave man the same choice they gave Achilles: a brief life of glory or a long, uneventful life in obscurity. And the Takers chose a brief life of glory.” “Yes, that’s certainly how it’s understood. People just shrug and say, ‘Well, this is the price that had to be paid for indoor plumbing and central hearing and air conditioning and automobiles and all the rest.’” I gave him a quizzical look. “And what are you saying?” “I’m saying that the price you’ve paid is not the price of becoming human. It’s not even the price of having the things you just mentioned. It’s the price of enacting a story that casts mankind as the enemy of the world.”"
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Novelists from the United StatesCritics from the United StatesCultural criticsEnvironmentalists from the United StatesPublishers from the United States
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Part 4, Chapter 5 (p. 75)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Daniel_Quinn
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Daniel Quinn
Daniel Clarence Quinn (October 11, 1935 – February 17, 2018) was an American author, cultural critic, and publisher of educational texts, best known for his novel Ishmael, which won the Turner Tomorrow Fellowship Award in 1991 and was published the following year.
103 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Daniel Quinn →
Related Quotes
"Atterley’s message seemed difficult to summarize and was typically characterized as “mind-boggling” by those who were…"
"Programs are initiated in order to counter or defeat vision."
"“One thing I know people will say to me is ‘Are you suggesting we go back to being hunter-gatherers?’” “That of cours…"
"It should be noted that what is crucial to our survival as a race is not the redistribution of power and wealth withi…"
"It means I’ve been changed, fundamentally and permanently. It means I cannot be put back to what I was. That’s why I …"
"Anyone who thinks the Church is open to new ideas is living in a dreamworld."
"It can’t possibly be said too often that there is no one right way for people to live; that’s only the delusion of th…"
"Daunting isn’t nearly strong enough. To call it daunting is like calling the Atlantic damp."
"“The world of the Takers is one vast prison, and except for a handful of Leavers scattered across the world, the enti…"
"I asked, “Is it so easy to change a cultural vision.” “The relevant measures are not ease and difficulty. The relevan…"