Quotes from book
Star Bridge

Jack Williamson
Jack Williamson photo

“Power is habit-forming. We grew addicted to it. Few things survive the centuries’ slow decay: senses grow dull; passions grow weak; and ideals die. Only the taste for power lives on as an excuse for survival.”

Jack Williamson book Star Bridge

Source: Star Bridge (1955), Chapter 20, “Prime Mover” (p. 275)

Jack Williamson photo

“You have a right to be curious. And I have a right to refuse to satisfy it. You may credit it to your own charm or an old man’s whim, if you like. You are interesting, you know. Hired killers always are. Not admirable, but interesting.”

Jack Williamson book Star Bridge

Source: Star Bridge (1955), Chapter 11, “The Turning Tide” (p. 150)

Jack Williamson photo

“Conquerors live by conquest; the first failure is a signal for the conquered to rise against them.”

Jack Williamson book Star Bridge

Source: Star Bridge (1955), Chapter 6, “Flight” (p. 78)

Jack Williamson photo

“Creation.… It is its own nemesis. Success is temporary, and idolization will not make the ephemeral permanent. Decay is implicit in the birth of any organism. An empire is an organism.”

Jack Williamson book Star Bridge

Source: Star Bridge (1955), “The History,” prelude to Chapter 18, “War” (p. 237)

Jack Williamson photo

“Civilization.…
Like everything else, it has a price. The down payment is freedom. For the privilege of living together, men surrender the right to do as they please; they make laws and restrict themselves within them.
When civilization is conferred from outside, the price is even steeper: someone else makes the laws.”

Jack Williamson book Star Bridge

Source: Star Bridge (1955), “The History,” prelude to Chapter 3, “The Narrow Bridge” (p. 37)

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