Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, is the reverse.

But a lady forced is never a lady won

Civilization was a defense against nature’s raw power.

To be a leader meant that sometimes you had to look away from the pain

Between people long-married there is a diplomacy of the eyes

Human life is a voyage on a sea of meaning, not a net of information.

In a tough situation, don't avoid acting just because it's easier or comfortable. Don't lapse into a passive state. People who give up, die.

A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

Redwing had read somewhere that one of his favourite writers, Ernest Hemingway, had been asked what was the best training for a novelist. He had said “an unhappy childhood.” Redwing had enjoyed a fine time growing up, but he wondered if this whole expedition was unfolding more like a novel, and would be blamed on one person, one character, the guy in charge: him. Maybe you got a happy childhood and then an unhappy adulthood, and that’s how novels worked.

Humans and animals regard each other across a gulf of mutual incomprehension. With aliens, that has to go double.

I know that humans are fond of seeing their kind rendered in other media.

Fame is the accumulation of misunderstandings around a well-known name

...the movies are most people's exposure to ideas about the future.