Ziggy

“You simply can't trust the British. With Americans (or Canadians, for that matter) what you see is what you get. But settle into your seat on a 749 flying out of Heathrow next to an ostensibly boring old Englishman with wobbly chins, the acquired stammer, obviously something in the City, intent on his Times crossword puzzle, and don't you dare patronize him. Mr. Milquetoast, actually a judo black belt, was probably parachuted into the Dordogne in 1943, blew up a train or two, and survived the Gestapo cells by concentrating on what would become the definitive translation of Gilgamesh from the Sin-Leqi-Inninni; and now -- his garment bag stuffed with his wife's most alluring cocktail dresses and lingerie -- he is no doubt bound for the annual convention of cross-dressers in Saskatoon.”
― Mordecai Richler, Barney's Version

“I was just getting by on books and baseball and fried-egg sandwiches.”
― Marilynne Robinson, Gilead

“One man who stopped lying could bring down a tyranny.”
― Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago 1918–1956

“The same principle leads us to neglect a man of merit that induces us to admire a fool.”
― Jean de La Bruyère