Quotes from James Lovegrove

When chaos loomed, reason and accountability went out of the window.

Hierarchy and discipline gave shape to the world;that was what he had always believed.Life was made easy by adherence toa rigid structure.But maybe that only really worked when you were at the top of the ladder,when you were doing well.The further down the rungs you went,the more of a victim of circumstances you became and the less it mattered whether or not you were in control.

You can't change the past and you can't do aught but rue the way you sometimes acted back when you were young and stupid and thought you were immortal. Doesn't prevent you from wishing you could.

To a snail, a duck is a vengeful god.

An addict of any kind is always on the lookout for newer, more intense experiences. After a time he builds up an immunity to the rush of sensation he receives from his addiction. He seeks greater heights, higher stakes.

Civilizaton rests on the assumption that the universe is kindly disposed towards mankind and intended for our benefit. Imagine the upheaval were it to become widespread knowledge that that is not so.

You are far too stolid and unimaginative, Watson, to invent a tale like that.

Book knew, however, that God provided. It might not always seem as though He did. Indeed, to the untrained eye it sometimes looked as though the Lord's methods were just plain berserk. But in the end, all said and done, He always came through. It was a cornerstone of Book's belief, the rock he had rebuilt his life upon.

One, for instance, boasted a lovingly detailed watercolour of a dead robin, while on another a row of comical frogs paraded beneath umbrellas and, on another still, insects danced in a circle, wielding musical instruments and seemingly drunk.

He was going to kill you," she said. "And me. Fair's fair. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a candy for a candy, a penny for your thoughts." "Still and all. We don't kill unless we have to." River reflected on this, then smiled brightly. "Okay! That's a good rule." "I like to think so.

The usual deal: whatever's going, if it pays, we'll take it. Sorry state of affairs, but that's how it is. Ain't a kind or just 'verse, and nobody's owed a living.

Cynicism is simply realism with a veneer of irony.

There was no tune as such, just arrhythmic sequences of harsh intervals and atonalities. It was all clash and dissonance. It was the kind of music, I thought, that would be played in Hell.

In there," River said. "I was just stroking the horses. They have such soft noses, did you know that? Apart from the bristles. And their breath, when they snort, it's warm on your hand. I like it. It smells of friendliness.

The HTX-20 isn't' supposed to explode unless it gets bumped around too much. Right, Badger? Mal pressed. That's right. Or gets wet or hot or all that other gubbins. We went over it, didn't we? You need a refresher course? No, it's just that crate got bumped. How do we know things are still all right? Badger looked at him as if Mal was the stupid one. We're not dead. Hard to argue with that.

The words of his Zen Buddhist flight instructor echoed in his head: You are a leaf on the wind.

Without really trying to or meaning to, Mal had become the head of a family, and it was a family that took the fun out of dysfunctional.

Preacher," said Temperance, "I don't hold much with religion." "Few do, and of those who profess faith, some take it far too seriously and others consider it a license to misbehave.

Then count me in," Wash said to Mal. "Whatever Zoë wants, I want." "My man." Zoë slipped an arm around her husband's waist and kissed him. "That's why I love you." "It's also why you haven't killed me all this time we've been married." "Smart of you to realize.

Mankind is inherently inclined towards cooperation, Holmes said. It is how we create societies and moral consensus. We want to agree with one another, on the whole. Thus, if one of us insists a certain thing is true, and maintains his standpoint in the face of all opposition, others will eventually come around to his way of thinking.

I'm a connoisseur of the poppy. I know my stuff. This diluted muck barely passes muster.