Reasonable Quotes - Page 26

• If the library in the morning suggests an echo of the severe and reasonable wishful order of the world, the library at night seems to rejoice in the world's essential, joyful muddle.

  Alberto Manguel

  Morning, Night, Order

  Alberto Manguel (2011). “The Library at Night”, p.19, Vintage Canada

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• If it was as logical as that, I wouldn't continue to feel as bad as I do. I know what you're saying, and you're absolutely right in a way. But logic and rationality only go so far. Then you know what happens? Ha! Then your heart adds its two cents and everything reasonable goes right-out-the-window.

  Jonathan Carroll

  Heart, Two, Add

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• Human beings act in a great variety of irrational ways, but all of them seem to be capable, if given a fair chance, of making a reasonable choice in the light of available evidence. Democratic institutions can be made to work only if all concerned do their best to impart knowledge and to encourage rationality. But today, in the world's most powerful democracy, the politicians and the propagandists prefer to make nonsense of democratic procedures by appealing almost exclusively to the ignorance and irrationality of the electors.

  Aldous Huxley

  Powerful, Ignorance, Knowledge

  Aldous Huxley, Robert S. Baker, James Sexton (2002). “Complete Essays: 1956-1963, and supplement, 1920-1948”, Ivan R. Dee Publisher

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• Whatever he says, let his inner resolution be not to bear whatever comes to him, but to bear it 'for a reasonable period'--and let the reasonable period be shorter than the trial is likely to last. It need not be much shorter; in attacks on patience, chastity, and fortitude, the fun is to make the man yield just when (had he but known it) relief was almost in sight.

  C. S. Lewis

  Fun, Men, Yield

  C. S. Lewis (1995). “The Screwtape Letters”, Bantam Classics

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• ...Chillingworth was a striking evidence of man's faculty of transforming himself into a devil, if he will only, for a reasonable space of time, undertake a devil's office.

  Nathaniel Hawthorne

  Men, Space, Office

  Nathaniel Hawthorne (1935). “The Scarlet Letter (Sparklesoup Classics)”, p.81, Sparklesoup LLC

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• God is the highest good of the reasonable creature. The enjoyment of him is our proper; and is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied. To go to heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here. Better than fathers and mothers, husbands, wives, or children, or the company of any, or all earthly friends. These are but shadows; but the enjoyment of God is the substance. These are but scattered beams; but God is the sun. These are but streams; but God is the fountain. These are but drops, but God is the ocean.

  Jonathan Edwards

  Mother, Children, Husband

  Jonathan Edwards (1785). “The life and character of ... J. E. ... Together with a number of his sermons, etc”, p.381

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• Dreams are always crushing when they don't come true. But it's the simple dreams that are often the most painful because they seem so personal, so reasonable, so attainable. You're always close enough to touch, but never quite close enough to hold and it's enough to break your heart.

  Nicholas Sparks

  Love, Crush, Dream

  FaceBook post by Nicholas Sparks from Sep 30, 2011

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• It is always useful to think badly about people one has exploited or plans to exploit... No one likes to think of him or herself as a bad person. To treat badly another person whom we consider a reasonable human being creates a tension between act and attitude that demands resolution. We cannot erase what we have done, and to alter our future behavior may not be in our interest. To change our attitude is easier.

  James W. Loewen

  Attitude, Thinking, People

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• If you stumble over mere believability, what are you living for? Love is hard to believe, ask any lover. Life is hard to believe, ask any scientist. God is hard to believe, ask any believer. What is your problem with hard to believe? Reason is excellent for getting food, clothing and shelter. Reason is the very best tool kit. Nothing beats reason for keeping tigers away. But be excessively reasonable and you risk throwing out the universe with the bathwater

  Yann Martel

  Believe, Love Is, Life Is Hard

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• [The Head of Radio Three] had been ensnared by the Music Director of the college and a Professor of Philosophy. These two were busy explaining to the harassed man that the phrase "too much Mozart" was, given any reasonable definition of those three words, an inherently self-contradictory expression, and that any sentence which contained such a phrase would be thereby rendered meaningless and could not, consequently, be advanced as part of an argument in favour of any given programme-scheduling strategy.

  Douglas Adams

  Philosophy, College, Men

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• Behind me, Marc made a soft whistling sound, clearly impressed. “That’s not standard procedure,” he said, his tone entirely too reasonable as he leaned over the stray’s body to open the back passenger-side door. “Yeah, well, I’m not your standard enforcer.

  Rachel Vincent

  Doors, Sound, Body

  Rachel Vincent (2016). “Rogue”, p.16, MIRA

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• In fact, "atheism" is a term that should not even exist. No one ever needs to identify himself as a "non-astrologer" or a "non-alchemist." We do not have words for people who doubt that Elvis is still alive or that aliens have traversed the galaxy only to molest ranchers and their cattle. Atheism is nothing more than the noises reasonable people make in the presence of unjustified religious beliefs.

  Sam Harris

  Religious, Atheist, People

  "Letter to a Christian Nation". Book by Sam Harris, 2006.

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• I don t mind a reasonable amount of trouble.

  Dashiell Hammett

  Mind, Trouble, Film Noir

  Dashiell Hammett (2010). “The Maltese Falcon”, p.61, Vintage Crime/Black Lizard

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• I said that the world is absurd, but I was too hasty. This world in itself is not reasonable, that is all that can be said. But what is absurd is the confrontation of this irrational and the wild longing for clarity whose call echoes in the human heart.

  Albert Camus

  Heart, Echoes, Absurdity Of Life

  Albert Camus (2012). “The Myth of Sisyphus: And Other Essays”, p.21, Vintage

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• He had some measure of the infuriating trait that causes a young man to be a nonconformist for its own sake and found that the surest way to shock most people, in those days, was to believe that some kinds of behavior were bad and others good, and that it was reasonable to live one's life accordingly.

  Neal Stephenson

  Believe, Men, People

  Neal Stephenson (2003). “The Diamond Age”, p.20, Spectra

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• Well, I hate to admit it, but it is possible that there is (one) such a thing as telepathy and (two) that the CETI project's idea that we might communicate with extraterrestrial beings via telepathy is possibly a reasonable idea--if telepathy exists and if ETIs exist. Otherwise we are trying to communicate with someone who doesn't exist with a system which doesn't work.

  Philip K. Dick

  Hate, Ideas, Two

  "The Dark Haired Girl". Book by Philip K. Dick, 1989.

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• I can well imagine an athiest's last words: "White, white! L-L-Love! My God!" - and the deathbed leap of faith. Whereas the agnostic, if he stays true to his reasonable self, if he stays beholden to dry, yeastless factuality, might try to explain the warm light bathing him by saying "Possibly a f-f-failing oxygenation of the b-b-brain," and, to the very end, lack imagination and miss the better story.

  Yann Martel

  White, Light, Self

  Yann Martel (2007). “Life of Pi (Illustrated): Deluxe Illustrated Edition”, p.76, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

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• America, to me, should be shouting all the time, a bunch of shouting voices, most of them wrong, some of them nuts, but please, not just one droning glamourous reasonable voice.

  George Saunders

  Nuts, Voice, America

  George Saunders (2006). “In Persuasion Nation”, p.29, Penguin

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• I think I've been rather reasonable about this whole situation." "How do you figure?" "They are still breathing, aren't they?

  Ilona Andrews

  Thinking, Breathing, Figures

  Ilona Andrews (2008). “Magic Burns”, p.100, Penguin

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• I've a pocket full of dreams to sell," said Teddy, whimsically,... "What d'ye lack? What d'ye lack? A dream of success--a dream of adventure--a dream of the sea--a dream of the woodland--any kind of a dream you want at reasonable prices, including one or two unique little nightmares. What will you give me for a dream?

  Lucy Maud Montgomery

  Dream, Adventure, Unique

  Lucy Maud Montgomery (2015). “Emily Climbs”, p.253, Booklassic

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• Fate, at first so amenable, so reasonable, so open to negotiation, ends up by exacting a cruel revenge for happiness.

  Diane Setterfield

  Revenge, Fate, Firsts

  Diane Setterfield (2006). “The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel”, p.27, Simon and Schuster

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• How can I be reasonable? To me our love was everything and you were my whole life. It is not very pleasant to realize that to you it was only an episode.

  W. Somerset Maugham

  Break Up, Broken Heart, Breakup

  W. Somerset Maugham (2009). “The Painted Veil”, p.70, Random House

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• I am alone in the midst of these happy, reasonable voices. All these creatures spend their time explaining, realizing happily that they agree with each other. In Heaven's name, why is it so important to think the same things all together.

  Jean-Paul Sartre

  Thinking, Names, Voice

  Jean-Paul Sartre (2013). “Nausea”, p.21, New Directions Publishing

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• Maybe the theatre isn't any place for a reasonable human being after all. It keeps your emotions in such a constant state of upheaval. It's really terribly wearing. I wonder if I could stand it, one emotional upset after the other just going on and on for the rest of my life.

  Madeleine L'Engle

  Emotional, Upset, Theatre

  Madeleine L'Engle (2008). “The Joys of Love”, p.171, Macmillan

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• If you think about the unthinkable long enough it becomes quite reasonable.

  Josephine Tey

  Thinking, Long, Enough

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