"Every little increase in human freedom has been fought over ferociously between those who want us to know more and be wiser and stronger, and those who want us to obey and be humble and submit."

--

Source : Philip Pullman (2007). “The subtle knife”, Knopf Books for Young Readers

Philip Pullman

#Humble Quotes #Stronger Quotes #Want Quotes

“As the only woman, I was able to sit with the officers in front, with a glass of vodka in one hand and a cucumber in the other. That's how I went to my first war.”
“Then holding the star aloft and the bright sword advanced, Frodo, hobbit of the Shire, walked steadily down to meet the eyes.”
“But the great thing, and the horrible thing about the web is you can just throw stuff up there and it doesn't cost anybody anything.”
“The production of souls is more important than the production of tanks.... And therefore I raise my glass to you, writers, the engineers of the human soul.”
“There never was such an age in which so many people were able to write badly.”
“What is the Absolute? Something that appears to us in fleeting experiences--say, through the gentle smile of a beautiful woman, or even through the warm caring smile of a person who may otherwise seem ugly and rude. In such miraculous but extremely fragile moments, another dimension transpires through our reality. As such, the Absolute is easily corroded;it slips all too easily through our fingers and must be handled as carefully as a butterfly”
“By the 1970s, the American woman was being called 'liberated' or 'superwoman' while the American man was being called 'baby killer' if he fought in Vietnam, 'traitor' if he protested, or 'apathetic' if he did neither. Even men who came home paraplegics were literally spit on.”
“Patience can't be acquired overnight. It is just like building up a muscle. Every day you need to work on it.”

Source : Eknath Easwaran (2009). “Renewal: A Little Book of Courage and Hope”, p.29, Nilgiri Press

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