Ivan

“Horza recalled that the Culture's attitude to somebody who believed in an omnipotent God was to pity them, and to take no more notice of the substance of their faith than one would take of the ramblings of somebody claiming to be Emperor of the Universe. The nature of the belief wasn't totally irrelevant - along with the person's background and upbringing, it might tell you something about what had gone wrong with them - but you didn't take their views seriously.”
― Iain M. Banks, Consider Phlebas

“Empathize with stupidity and you’re halfway to thinking like an idiot.”
― Iain M. Banks

“As soon as you're sure you're right, there's no point in your being here.”
― Neal Stephenson, Anathem

“My gratitude extends beyond the limits of my capacity to express it,”
― Iain M. Banks, The Player of Games