John

“I just took [my cancer diagnosis] as bad luck, basically. It did strike me almost immediately, my atheist sort of thing kicked in and I thought "ha, if I was a God-botherer, I'd be thinking, why me God? What have I done to deserve this?" and I thought at least I'm free of that, at least I can simply treat it as bad luck and get on with it.”
― Iain M. Banks

“the gods did not desire flawless souls, but great ones. I think that very darkness is where the greatness grows from, as flowers from the soil. I am not sure, in fact, if greatness can bloom without it.”
― Lois McMaster Bujold, Paladin of Souls

“We should not hoard knowledge; we should be free from our knowledge.”
― Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind: Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice

“There is no subjection so perfect as that which keeps the appearance of freedom.”
― Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract