Tobie Frusci > Tobie's Quotes

“Any other man would have done either of two things by now: they would have tried to run, or they would have begged for mercy. But Loch isn’t just any man.”
― S.G. Blaise, The Last Lumenian

“What is it that inspires you? What do you love to do? What would you do for free? At the beginning of my busi-ness career, my why was to become a millionaire, not a good why! And why not? Because that is an aspiration rather than a why. Aspirations, I have found, won’t fuel me when the going gets tough. But a true “why” will.”
― Richard Polak

“she told me to be my own hero. Inside of all of us was the potential for greatness—all it took was a change in perspective. “You can burn brighter than they can, if you have too.”
― M. R. Noble, Karolina Dalca, Dark Eyes

“The mayor stood, his surprise at her interruption apparent by his twitching mustache. “You—you can’t just burst in here. Who are you?”
― Kirsten Fullmer, Trouble on Main Street

“You can’t save anyone who wouldn’t save themselves without you. It’s the
hardest lesson to learn in life, take it from me.”
― Marc Jampole

“You know what's wrong with scientific power?... It's a form of inherited wealth... Most kinds of power require a substantial sacrifice by whoever wants the power. There is an apprenticeship, a discipline lasting many years. Whatever kind of power you want. President of the company. Black belt in karate. Spiritual Guru. Whatever it is you seek, you have to put in the time, the practice, the effort. You must give up a lot to get it. It has to be very important to you. And once you have attained it, it is your power. It can't be given away: it resides in you. It is literally the result of your discipline. Now, what is interesting about this process is that, by the time someone has acquired the ability to his with his bare hands, he has also matured to the point where he won't use it unwisely. So that kind of power has a built-in control. The discipline of the getting the power changes you so that you won't abuse it. But scientific power is like inherited wealth: attained without discipline. You read what others have done, and you take the next step... There is no discipline... no mastery: old scientists are ignored. There is no humility before nature... A karate master does not kill people with his bare hands. He does not lose his temper and kill his wife. The person who kills is the person who has no discipline, no restraint, and who has purchased his power in the form of a Saturday night special. And that is the kind of power that science fosters, and permits.”
― Michael Crichton, Jurassic Park

“La distance est un vain mot, la distance n'existe pas!”
― Jules Verne, From the Earth to the Moon

“In fact, the Americans of 1776 enjoyed a higher standard of living than any people in the world.”
― David McCullough, 1776

“God would light the way. Faith would keep them on the right path.”
― Francine Rivers

“Some things were certain - they had already happened - but the future could not be divined. Perhaps by Ida Paine. For everyone else, the future was no ally. A person had only his life to barter with. He felt that way. He could lose himself... or trade what he had for something he cared about. That rare thing. Either way, his life would be spent.”
― David Wroblewski, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

“So there is responsibility. I cry, you cry. We all come running, and the one that stays quiet, the one that stays home, must explain. Is he in league with the criminals? Is he a coward? And what would he exect when he cries? This is simple. This is normal. This is community.”
― Philip Gourevitch, We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families: Stories from Rwanda

“It takes so little, so infinitely little, for someone to find himself on the other side of the border, where everything - love, convictions, faith, history - no longer has meaning. The whole mystery of human life resides on the fact that it is spent in the immediate proximity of, and even in direct contact with, that border, that it is separated from it not by kilometers but by barely a millimeter.”
― Milan Kundera, The Book of Laughter and Forgetting

“Turning on the shower, he thought of the wildly fancy bathroom at Charlotte's house. It was funny to think of, but the bathrooms he liked weren't fancy; this one, and the one at Seymour's, and the one at Harry's. They weren't fancy, but they were home. He got in the shower. The one squirt that always went haywire hit him right in the eye. He laughed up into the warm water running over his ears.”
― Louise Fitzhugh

“Cat, you ruined mom's dress!"
"Honey, it was ruined when she bought it.”
― Dr. Seuss, The Cat in the Hat

“Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.”
― Charles Dickens, David Copperfield

“You should have heard the old men cry
You should have heard the biddies
When that sad stranger rasied his flute
And piped away the kiddies.
Katy, Tommy, Meg, and Bob
Followed skipping gailey
Red-haired Ruth, my brother Ron,
And little crippled Bailey
Jon and Nils and Cousin Claire
Dancin', spinnin', turnin'
'Cross the hills to god knows where-
They never came returnin'.
'Cross the hills to god know where
The piper pranced a leadin'.
Each child in Hamlin town but me
And I stayed home unheedin'.
My papa says that I was blest
For if that music fond me
I'd be witch-cast like all the rest.
This town grows old around me.
I cannot say I did not hear
That sound so hauntin' hollow.
I heard, I heard, I heard it clear...
I was afraid to follow.”
― Shel Silverstein

“There we understood that our vocation, our true vocation, was to move for eternity along the roads and seas of the world. Always curious, looking into everything that came before our eyes, sniffing out each corner but only ever faintly — not setting down roots in any land or staying long enough to see the substratum of things; the outer limits would suffice.”
― Ernesto Che Guevara, The Motorcycle Diaries: Notes on a Latin American Journey

“These white folk have newspapers, magazines, radios, spokesmen to get their ideas across. If they want to tell the world a lie, they can tell it so well that it becomes the truth; and if I tell them that you’re lying, they’ll tell the world even if you prove you’re telling the truth. Because it’s the kind of lie they want to hear …”
― Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man

“Beware the irrational, however seductive. Shun the 'transcendent' and all who invite you to subordinate or annihilate yourself. Distrust compassion; prefer dignity for yourself and others. Don't be afraid to be thought arrogant or selfish. Picture all experts as if they were mammals. Never be a spectator of unfairness or stupidity. Seek out argument and disputation for their own sake; the grave will supply plenty of time for silence. Suspect your own motives, and all excuses. Do not live for others any more than you would expect others to live for you.”
― Christopher Hitchens, Letters to a Young Contrarian

“A powerful, victorious ally is yet another name for master.”
― Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist Papers

“Alone in the kitchen, Horace stared with sombre eyes at the plate of food. For a long time he betrayed no sign of yielding. His mood was adamantine. He was resolved not to sell his vengeance for bread, cold ham, and a pickle, and yet it must be known that the sight of them affected him powerfully. The pickle in particular was notable for its seductive charm. He surveyed it darkly. Horace”
― Stephen Crane, The Monster and Other Stories

“God's in His heaven, alls right with the world', whispered Anne softly.”
― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

“I respect you when I don’t try to tell you how to live your life, how to dress, how to walk, how to talk, how to do whatever you do in your kingdom.”
― Miguel Ruiz, The Fifth Agreement: A Practical Guide to Self-Mastery