"“And now you must decide which pain you will bear. That of being as you were. Or that of being as you are.” I brought myself up to my knees. That was as far as I could get. The hand that had held the tea cup appeared again, a full cup in it, the steam rising into my nose. I gulped it, interrupting the gulps with sobs. “Pain of being as I am? I don’t understand.” “But of course you do. The pain of curiosity unsatisfied, of ambition unfulfilled. The pain of love unreturned, of devotion undeserved. The pain of friendship rejected, of leadership ridiculed. The pain of loneliness and labor. Silly child. Did you think living was easy?”"

"“I do not like the thought of compulsion.” He shook his head at me. “Not compulsion, Jinian. Information, more like. It is as though I had been given a map which showed both the good roads and the swamps. Is it compulsion to avoid the swamps if one knows they are there?”"

"“Well, why didn’t the silly Bloomians think of that?” “Religion, I imagine, friend Chance. Religion serves to prevent thought in many cases, and I’d say it had done so here. They started with the presumption that anything as complex as the mill must exist for a good reason. Then they spent all their time inventing a good reason—and some god to be responsible for it—rather than looking for a sensible solution to their problem.”"

"This is the problem with too much Schooling. One learns to manipulate the labels in a way that the Gamesmistresses approve, and one doesn’t realize that things do not always act in accordance with the labels in the real world. One doesn’t realize that the labels, come to that, are often wrong."

"“The old ones, Ganver and the rest, they pretend it has significance. Oh, I recall that pretense, Seer. In my youth I was shown many things. ‘Watch and learn,’ they said to me. ‘Bao,’ they said to me. So I watched, but it was only nonsense. They showed me this and showed me that, but it meant nothing. It was only pretense, done to mystify us young ones and keep us subservient. The sign has no power. It is nothing. A symbol only; a symbol of our degradation.”"

"Why are we wondering why the world wishes itself dead when we are doing nothing to heal it?"

"There always has to be someone to see things first."

"“Better late than not at all,” came a voice from the ranked multitude. “Better a tardy lover than a lonely bed.”"

"We had what we thought was the answer and we troubled to look no further."

"We might be able to do something. If we were very lucky, it might even be the right thing."

"I have in recent years often reflected upon memory. One takes it so for granted. One remembers with such facile infallibility. And one finds with such shock – at least it was a shock to me – that memory isn’t true."

"One hates to think that all of existence is trivial."

"It went on, “If you accuse, then you must judge.” “You let your accusers be your judges?” asked Peter, astounded. “Who else should be satisfied?” it asked. “If one’s accusers cannot be satisfied, what is justice?” “One’s accusers might be mad,” Peter suggested, very unwisely I thought, considering where we were. “Mad, and incapable of being satisfied.”"

"Sometimes there is such crowding that there is irritation, and this makes fear or anger; and following fear comes meetings of councils to make regulations; and following regulations is further irritation at the laws that are made."

"There was a great mob of the Oracle’s Brotherhood, dancing in their ribbons, chanting and shouting in a zealot’s parody of purpose, a frantic anarchy that could see no farther than the next bit of inflammatory oratory being shouted on every corner."

"The tallest Father preached. He stood before us in robes of gleaming white, surrounded by the smoke of sweet incense, fondling his groin from time to time as he talked of St. Phallus. St. Phallus loomed behind the altar, erect, massive, as though ready to rape the world. It was not the first such monument I had seen. Wherever men were ignorant and hungry for power, I had seen these things, though never one as large as this. Father fondled his groin and preached. “Holy fruit of St. Phallus,” he said. “Clean seed planted in filthy ground,” he said. “Corrupted by dirty woman-wombs,” he said."

"“I don’t know the sensible plant,” said Cat wonderingly. “Where may it be found?” “It cannot be found,” the Gardener replied. “It is extinct.”"

"It cheered me a little. Enmities among one’s enemies are always comforting."

"They were betrayed, Oracle. Ganver tells me there is no anger greater than that of a zealot betrayed."

"He rejoices to have done with the dead. The living need our attentions more, he says. Who can argue with that?"

"“We are kinsmen, therefore allies. You will forgive me if I do not say ‘kinspersons.’ I learned my English in a more elegant setting, in a more elegant time.”"

"I have often wondered why anger is considered by some Western religions to be a sin. It is such a marvelous protection against evil."

"“To us it does not seem that long ago, possibly because our children hear stories told around the fire of things which happened fifteen centuries back. Such stories carry an immediacy one does not get from books.…” “Which is why some countries carry such old grudges,” offered Marianne. “What children learn at their grandmas’ knees they act upon as though it happened yesterday.” He nodded gravely, even sadly. “Perhaps that is true. Those who have an oral tradition full of old wrongs and old revenge do seem to fight the same battles forever. If the Irish were not forever singing of their ancient wrongs—or writing poetry about it…well, we see the result in every morning’s newspapers.”"

"The difference between a true religion—and there are many which share aspects of truth—and a dangerous cult is only this: In the one the individual is freed to grow and live and learn; in the other the individual is subordinated to the will of a hierarchy, enslaved to the purposes of that hierarchy, forbidden to learn except what the cult would teach. You have only to look at the rules which govern the servants of a religion to know whether its god is God indeed, or devil!"

"“The answers to everything are in the books,” he said to her. “It is in knowing which books, of course, and where to look.”"

"Lion had few doubts about his actions. As he had said on more than one occasion, “I may be wrong, but I am never in doubt.”"

"“I was always willing to help you,” she replied, “as you would have known if you had stopped accusing me and listened.”"

"Disillusionment, pain, unpleasant surprise, all were part of growing up."

"“How did this happen?” she demanded from the world at large. “Software,” the hardware consultant opined. “Hardware,” the software support person snarled."

"What was scheduled had no connection with what actually happened."

"“Each day we investigate all premises within three blocks of the palace. Lookin’ for anarchists and revolutionaries, so they tell us, not that we’ve ever found any. Found a nest of revisionists once, but nobody cared.” “What were they revising?” she asked, truly curious. “Don’t know. Didn’t ask ’em.”"

"What kind of a universe would it be if we could not do small kindnesses for one another?"

"“Sometimes I despair, Ellat. Will I ever be able to surprise you?” “Yes. If you’d listen to me, ever, it would surprise me enormously.”"

"“Of course, the governor says the man is mistaken.” “Governor says he's a stupid ass,” muttered Haurvatat. “I think the man has a glitch in his software somewhere.”"

"Morgot and Myra would tell her there wasn’t any reason to make promises or seek changes because the Great Mother didn’t bargain. The deity didn’t change her mind for women’s convenience. Her way was immutable. As the temple servers said, “No sentimentality, no romance, no false hopes, no self-petting lies, merely that which is!” Which left very little room, Stavia thought, for womanly initiative."

"There is no fucking in Hades."

"We obey orders, and we don’t ask if the officer is crazy or not!"

"Myra subsided into outraged and sulky silence. Her romantic dream of motherhood had been riven into sharp-edged fragments by late-night feedings, constant diaper washing, and a baby who persisted in looking and acting like a baby, not like a young hero."

"Honor is only a label they use for what they want you to do, Chernon. They want you to stay, so they call staying honorable."

"The one sure part of every plan is that it will be set awry."

"The extent of my ignorance oppresses me."

"“We have a saying, we travelers: ‘For a man’s business, go to your troupe leader; for a woman’s business, go to Women’s Country. For a fool’s business, go to the warriors.’”"

"“Show yourselves,” cried Stephon. “Only cowards hide in the dark.” “Cowards do many things,” said the voice. “Cowards kill their Commanders and make it look like a bandit attack. Cowards plot in secret. Cowards breed insurrection. Cowards plan the abuse of women.”"

"To Sylvan truth was truth and all else was black heresy, though on occasion he had the very human difficulty of deciding which was which."

"Rich people didn’t get in that kind of mess. They never had. Only the poor got trapped: by ignorance, by religion, by self-righteous laws passed by people who broke them with impunity."

"All kids think some other family is perfect."

"They see things; they overhear things; they tell us. We put two and two together to make forty-four, when we must."

"Eugenie thought of this often. Men had told her many sweet things about herself, but never before that she was important. It was the nicest compliment she had ever received."

"All men believed they had their own magics in bed."