The quintessential emblem of religion and the clearest manifestation of the perversity that lies at its core is the sacrifice of a child by a parent. Almost all religious faiths incorporate the myth of such a sacrifice, and some have actually m...
music is the worst of them - roiling and boiling - overly emotionalized on the one hand, overly intellectuallized on the other. Bach and Mozart indeed! Bach inevitably makes me think of fish in a barrel! round and round and round they go and nothing ...
[Knowing God]... call it love, yes, only that can sound too emotional, or call it faith, and that can sound too cerebral. And what is it? Both, and neither... [its] the decision to be faithful, the patient refusal of easy gratifications... of Jesus' ...
We are split people. For myself, half of me wishes to sit quietly with legs crossed, letting the things that are beyond my control wash over me. But the other half wants to fight a holy war. Jihad! And certainly we could argue this out in the street,...
Birthdays were wretched, delicious things when you lived in Beau Rivage. The clock stuck midnight, and presents gave way to magic. Curses bloomed. Girls bit into sharp apples instead of birthday cake, chocked on the ruby-and-white slivers, and collap...
My death..I mean..will it be quick,and with dignity? How will i know when the end is coming?" "When you vomit blood,sir," Tao Chi'en said sadly. That happened three weeks later,in the middle of Pacific,in the privacy of the captain's cabin. As soon a...
If a writer of prose knows enough about what he is writing about he may omit things that he knows and the reader, if the writer is writing truly enough, will have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them. The dignity...
Brian Clough: What are you doing? You weren't supposed to *accept* our resignations! Sam Longson: Shouldn't bloody well offer them, then, should you? Brian Clough: Look, you can't get rid of us. It would be a disaster for the club. For the whole of D...
Ron: [discussing inviting dates to the Yule Ball] This is mad! At this rate, we'll be the only ones in our year without dates! Well, us and Neville. Harry: [laughing] Yeah, but then again he could take himself. Hermione: It might interest you to know...
Harry Potter: First we've got to find a place to practice where Umbridge won't find out. Ginny Weasley: The Shrieking Shack? Harry Potter: It's too small. Hermione Granger: The Forbidden Forest? Ron Weasley: Not bloody likely! Ginny Weasley: Harry, w...
James Bond: So this is it. We're both played out. M: Well, if you believe that, why did you come back? James Bond: Good question. M: Because we're under attack. And you know we need you. James Bond: Well, I'm here. M: You'll have to be debriefed and ...
Withnail: I've some extremely distressing news. Marwood: I don't want to hear it. I don't want to hear anything. Oh God, it's a nightmare, I tell you, it's a nightmare. Withnail: We've just run out of wine. What are we gonna do about it? Marwood: I d...
[Withnail picks up a bottle of lighter fluid] Marwood: I wouldn't drink that if I was you. Withnail: Why not? Marwood: Because I don't advise it. Even the wankers on the site wouldn't drink that, that's worse than meths. Withnail: Nonsense. This is a...
Ray: Why didn't you wave hello to me today when I waved hello to you today? Jimmy: I was on a very strong horse tranquilizer today; Wasn't waving hello to anybody. Except... maybe to a horse. Ray: Huh? What are you talking about? Jimmy: Just horseshi...
But you are crazy.” “I know.” She lifted a small box from the basket. “Do you know how I know?” Scarlet didn't answer. “Because the palace walls have been bleeding for years, and no one else sees it.” She shrugged, as if this were a per...
Harper: In your experience of the world. How do people change? Mormon Mother: Well it has something to do with God so it's not very nice. God splits the skin with a jagged thumbnail from throat to belly and then plunges a huge filthy hand in, he grab...
I watched bulls bred to cows, watched mares foal, I saw life come from the egg and the multiplicative wonders of mudholes and ponds, the jell and slime of life shimmering in gravid expectation. Everywhere I looked, life sprang from something not life...
But I cannot be worrying-worrying all the time about the truth. I have to worry about the truth that can be lived with. And that is the difference between losing your marbles drinking the salty sea, or swallowing the stuff that comes from the streams...
[gathering wood to shore up the tunnels, Hilts removes the wooden slats from bunk beds in the sleeping area of the prisoner barracks, holding a stack of them, and walks carefully out into the hallway] Cavendish: [passes Hilts in the hallway on his wa...
Harry Potter: I don't care about a bloody wedding! No matter whose it is. I have to start searching for the Horcruxes. It's the only chance we have to beat him. And the longer we wait, the stronger he gets. Ron Weasley: Tonight's not that night, mate...
Eliza Doolittle: [singing] I shall not feel alone without you, I can stand on my own without you. So go back in your shell, I can do bloody well without... Professor Henry Higgins: [singing] By George, I really did it, I did it, I did it! I said I'd ...
