Christopher

“This was not the old Chichikov. This was some wreckage of the old Chichikov. The inner state of his soul might be compared to a demolished building, which has been demolished so that from it a new one could be built; but the new one has not been started yet, because the infinitive plan has not yet come from the architect and the workers are left in perplexity.”
― Nikolai Gogol, Dead Souls

“I have spent too much of my life opening doors for cats—I once calculated that, since the dawn of civilization, nine hundred and seventy-eight man-centuries have been used up that way. I could show you figures.”
― Robert A. Heinlein, The Door Into Summer

“Hit it! You have to hit it harder than that. Electrons are timid little things but notional; you have to let them know who’s boss.”
― Robert A. Heinlein, The Cat Who Walks Through Walls

“It comes from exercising care in the choice of parents.”
― Robert A. Heinlein, The Past Through Tomorrow