Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.
Busy, busy, busy, is what we Bokononists whisper whenever we think of how complicated and unpredictable the machinery of life really is.
Billy had a framed prayer on his office wall which expressed his method for keeping going, even though he was unenthusiastic about living. A lot of patients who saw the prayer on Billy’s wall told him...
Belief is nearly the whole of the universe whether based on truth or not.
Among the things Billy Pilgrim could not change were the past, the present, and the future.
You think I'm insane? said Finnerty. Apparently he wanted more of a reaction than Paul had given him.You're still in touch. I guess that's the test.Barely — barely.A psychiatrist could help. There's a...
Women are so useless and unimaginative, aren't they? All they ever think of planting in the dirt is the seed of something beautiful or edible. The only missile they can ever think of throwing at anybo...
There are almost no characters in this story, and almost no dramatic confrontations, because most of the people in it are so sick and so much the listless playthings of enormous forces. One of the mai...
The words were a paraphrase of the suggestion of Jesus: Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's. Bokonon's paraphrase was this: Pay no attention to Caesar. Caesar doesn't have the s...
The women all had big minds because they were big animals, but they didn't use them for this reason: unusual ideas could make enemies and the women, if they were going to achieve any sort of comfort a...
The big trouble with dumb bastards is that they are too dumb to believe there is such a thing as being smart.
People aren’t supposed to look back. I’m certainly not going to do it anymore.
New knowledge is the most valuable commodity on earth. The more truth we have to work with, the richer we become.
Never have I risked my life, or even my comfort, in the service of mankind. Shame on me.
It was about people whose mental diseases couldn’t be treated because the causes of the diseases were all in the fourth dimension, and three-dimensional Earthling doctors couldn’t see those causes at...
In case you haven't noticed, as the result of a shamelessly rigged election in Florida, in which thousands of African Americans were arbitrarily disenfranchised, we now present ourselves to the rest o...
I love you, because the love you gave me was the only love I've ever had, the only love I ever will have
I love you sons of bitches. You’re all I read any more. You're the only ones who’ll talk all about the really terrific changes going on, the only ones crazy enough to know that life is a space voyage,...
I couldn't help wondering if that was what God put me on Earth for--to find out how much a man could take without breaking.
I can't tell if you're serious or not,' said the driver. I won't know myself until I find out if life is serious or not,' said Trout. 'It's dangerous, I know, and it can hurt a lot. That doesn't neces...