Thomas Fackler

“...imitation supplements inadequate congenital variations in the direction of an instinct, and so, by keeping the creature alive, sets the trend of further variations in the same direction until the instinct is fully organized and congenital. If both of these views be true, as there seems reason to believe, then imitation holds a remarkable position in relation to intelligence and instinct. It stands midway between them and aids them both. In some functions it keeps the performance going, and so allows of its perfection as an instinct; in others it puts a stress on intelligence, and so allows the instinct to fall away, if it have no independent utility in addition to that served by the intelligence. In other words, it is through imitation that instincts both arise and decay; that is, some instincts are furthered, and some suppressed, by imitation.”
― Karl Groos, The Play of Animals

“You think whatever is wrong with you is contagious, then?' ... 'Yes, but you hae it already. You caught it from your mother. Death.”
― Gene Wolfe, The Sword of the Lictor

“It's the first time I've said those words out loud. I pause with my hands on the steering wheel, waiting to feel something extraordinary. The light turns green.”
― Becky Albertalli, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

“... pain … the chain forged to bind us to the eternal present, …”
― Gene Wolfe, The Urth of the New Sun