"The writer, like the murderer, needs a motive,"

--

Source : Janet Malcolm (2013). “The Silent Woman: Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes”, p.183, Vintage

Janet Malcolm

#Needs Quotes #Motive Quotes #Murderer Quotes

“The basic drive behind real philosophy is curiosity about the world, not interest in the writings of philosophers. Each of us emerges from the preconsciousness of babyhood and simply finds himself here, in it, in the world. That experience alone astonishes some people. What is all this---what is the world? And what are we? From the beginning of humanity some have been under a compulsion to ask these questions, and have felt a craving for the answers. This is what is really meant by any such phrase as 'mankind's need for metaphysics.'”

Source : "Confessions of a Philosopher". Book by Bryan Magee, 1997.
“A great business success was probably never attained by chasing the dollar, but is due to pride in one's work, the pride that makes business an art.”

Source : Henry Latham Doherty (1923). “Principles and Ideas for Doherty Men: Papers, Addresses and Letters”
“I'm fascinated by evil queens. They're very alluring and repellent at the same time, and I'm into that dichotomy.”

Source : Source: pitchfork.com
“Why do we laugh at such terrible things? Because comedy is often the sarcastic realization of inescapable tragedy.”
“The dog [in Pavlov's experiments] does not continue to salivate whenever it hears a bell unless sometimes at least an edible offering accompanies the bell. But there are innumerable instances in human life where a single association, never reinforced, results in the establishment of a life-long dynamic system. An experience associated only once with a bereavement, an accident, or a battle, may become the center of a permanent phobia or complex, not in the least dependent on a recurrence of the original shock.”

Source : John Lukacs (1970). “The Passing of the Modern Age”
“To me, ultimate happiness is a journey, not a destination. It's not somewhere you end up, it's making choices every day to make yourself happy.”
“Not that she objected to solitude. Quite the contrary. She had books, thank Heaven, quantities of books. All sorts of books.”
“Married life can seem as if it's only five days long. The first day you meet, the second day you marry, the third day your raise your children, the fourth day you meet your grandchildren, and the fifth day you die first or bury your spouse to go home alone for the first time in many years.”

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