“I know, better than anyone else, that there are no heroes coming to save us. There are no good Epics. None of them protect us. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

“I trust you with their lives,' Prof said, still writing, 'and them with yours. Don't betray that trust, son. Keep your impulses in check. Don't just act because you can; act because it's the right ...”

“Seen like that, he was just a shadow; darkness, a nothingness, before real power. The men of this world, epics included, would pass from time. I might be a worm to him, but he was a worm himself in...”

“The buzzing was like the eager purr of a muscle car that had just been started, but left in neutral. That was another of Codys metaphors for it; Id said the sensation felt like an unbalanced washin...”

“I grunted, hauling the rope hand over hand. A plaintive squeak came from the pulley system with each draw, as if I had strapped some unfortunate mouse to a torture device and was twisting with glee.”

“Where there are villains, there will be heroes. Just wait. They will come.”

“If you are not willing to stand up for anything or anybody, then why should the Creator take a single step to help you?”

“If I am to be fallen into love, I will. And if as a result I will appear to be stupid, disillusioned, and of poor judgment, I will. And I would be damned if I cared what other people think. For I w...”

“To be brave is to love someone unconditionally, without expecting anything in return. To just give. That takes courage, because we don't want to fall on our faces or leave ourselves open to hurt.”

“Freedom without the strength to support it and, if need be, defend it, would be a cruel delusion. And the strength to defend freedom can itself only come from widespread industrialisation and the i...”

“RUTH: If you take the glassIll take you.”

“Goals are easily scored with either a skillful strike or a strong one. If you make a strong strike, it's impossible for it to be defended by obstacles in your goal!”

“Marriage must fight constantly against a monster which devours everything: routine.”

“I know that the whole pointthe only pointis tofind the things that matter, and hold on to them, and fight for them, and refuse tolet them go.”

“No one lived forever. But you fought for every minute you could get. Bought a little more with a lot of hard work.”