Quotes from book

God Knows

“"Is he in heaven? Is he in hell?"
"There is no heaven. There is no hell."
"There is no heaven? There is no hell?"
"That's all in your mind."”

“There is wisdom in madness and strong probability of truth in all accusations, for people are complete and everybody is capable of everything”

“How dispiriting I find it, even after all my personal triumphs, that we must grow up and grow sad, that we must age, weaken, and in time go home to our long home in the ground, and that even golden lads and girls all must, as chimney sweepers, come to dust.”

“But how can one be warm alone?”

“Destiny is a good thing to accept when it's going your way. When it isn't, don't call it destiny; call it injustice, treachery or simple bad luck.”

“God had no need for Ecclesiastes to acquaint Him with vanity.”

“Everybody is as unstable as water.”

“No one who ever wants praise will be satisfied with praise, the person who wants love cannot be satisfied with love. No want is ever fulfilled. And therefore I still don't know whether it is better to fear God and keep His commandments or to curse God and die.”

“Nothing fails like success.”

“I hate God and I hate life. And the closer I come to death, the more I hate life.”

“The promises of maniacs, like those of women, are not safely relied upon.”

“Love is potent stuff, isn't it?”

“I'm not even sure we really had that much need for God as much as we did seem to have a need to believe in Him.”

“Now THERE'S a hollow state to be in, isn't it — to believe in God and get no sign that He's there.”

“The truth is whatever people will believe is the truth. Don't you know history?”

“I am arrogant enough to wish I were modest as he and modest enough to know that this is arrogance.”

“No one lusting for blood is ever innocent. Or satisfied. I have not been innocent. Or satisfied. Just as the man who wants silver will not be satisfied with silver, a man who wants the blood of another will not be satisfied with having that blood, nor the woman with jewels be satisfied with jewels, and the man who wants women will not be satisfied with women. Don't try telling me different. Haven't I looked about me in the city and seen how all labor is for the mouth, yet the appetite is not filled? Don't I know myself that no want is ever satisfied? Wishes are granted, goals attained. But wants? Forget them. They live as long as the person they inhabit.”

“Vanity. What's wrong with vanity? It doesn't satisfy.”

“When one is infatuated, faults are endearing that in others would be heinous.”