"There is nothing, nothing on Urras that we Anarresti need! We left with empty hands, a hundred and seventy years ago, and we were right. We took nothing. Because there is nothing here but States and their weapons, the rich and their lies, and the poor and their misery. There is no way to act rightly, with a clear heart, on Urras. There is nothing you can do that profit does not enter into, and fear of loss, and the wish for power. You cannot say good morning without knowing which of you is āsuperiorā to the other, or trying to prove it. You cannot act like a brother to other people, you must manipulate them, or command them, or obey them, or trick them. You cannot touch another person, yet they will not leave you alone. There is no freedom. It is a boxāUrras is a box, a package, with all the beautiful wrapping of blue sky and meadows and forests and great cities. And you open the box, and what is inside it? A black cellar full of dust, and a dead man. A man whose hand was shot off because he held it out to others. I have been in Hell at last. Desar was right; it is Urras; Hell is Urras."
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Fantasy authorsScience fiction authors from the United StatesEssayists from the United StatesChildren's authors20th-century poets from the United States
Original Language: English
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Chapter 11 (pp. 346-347)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ursula_K._Le_Guin
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Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula K. Le Guin (21 October 1929 ā 22 January 2018) was an American writer, known mostly for her work in science fiction and fantasy. She received the Hugo Award, Nebula Award, Locus Award, and World Fantasy Award, and was made a Grandmaster of Science Fiction in 2003.
327 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Ursula K. Le Guin ā
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