John C. Wright quotes

If atheism solved all human woe, then the Soviet Union would have been an empire of joy and dancing bunnies instead of the land of corpses. (John C. Wright)
Reason is the tool men use to determine if their statements about reality are valid: there is no other. Those who do not or cannot reason are little better than slaves because their lives are controlled by the ideas of other men, ideas they have not examined. View quote
John C. Wright
A philosopher goes where the truth leads and has no patience with mere emotion. View quote
John C. Wright
My wife is a Christian and is extraordinary patient, logical, and philosophical. For years, I would challenge and condemn her beliefs, battering the structure of her conclusions with every argument, analogy, and evidence I could bring to bear. I am a very argumentative man, and I am as fell and subtle as a serpent in debate. View quote
John C. Wright
Everyone loses in war, even the winners. View quote
John C. Wright
I had sudden insight into male psychology. My theory: Guys are idiots. Keep this theory in mind. It explains the phenomena while assuming no unnecessary agents. View quote
John C. Wright
Yes, I prayed. Why not? The advantage of being an agnostic over being an atheist is that I always had the possibility of being wrong, and could still entertain the hope that the universe was better organized than it appeared to be. View quote
John C. Wright
They (i. e., the Olympian gods) operate on moral principles. You have to break a promise to them, or break a rule, for them to get power over you.” Victor commented darkly, "That explains why religions have rules no one can follow. If everyone is a sinner, by definition, everyone is under their power. View quote
John C. Wright
It seemed even the smallest exercise of arbitrary authority could go to one's head like wine. I told myself to remember this when I was older. View quote
John C. Wright
Broken oaths are bad luck eggs.” That was so weird, I did not know what to say. So I said, "Eggs? View quote
John C. Wright
There is a war, you know, between Cosmos and Chaos, between order and entropy, between reason and unreason. This forms the fundamental basis of existence; I do not see how any victory or lasting peace is possible. The most one can hope for is temporary compromises, temporary armistice. You are not the first victim of this terrible conflict. (John C. Wright)
We are indeed human beings. We are merely not Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens is a species, something into which one is born. Humanity one chooses. Men who choose inhumanity are merely upright beasts. View quote
John C. Wright
I resolved, as I walked, to be the most dangerous one I could be. And in my mind, that meant one thing: thought. Think things through; then act. First be patient; then be brave. View quote
John C. Wright
Those who work are free. There are only three categories of nonproductive people: babies, beggars, robbers. View quote
John C. Wright
There is no magic, only mysteries explained, and mysteries unexplained. View quote
John C. Wright
I cannot describe myself except to say that I am either very vain or very beautiful, and that I hope I am the latter, while suspecting I may be the former. View quote
John C. Wright
Women are supposed to domesticate men. List the countries where they treat women like dirt, and then list the crude, warlike, and brutal countries. Same list, yes? View quote
John C. Wright
Think, Amelia, think. You read all those books. What would Odysseus do? Dress up like a beggar, and then shoot everyone. No help there. What would Achilles do? Go sulk in his tent. Nope. Aeneas? Sacrifice a cow or something. Boy, these old heroes are really not useful as role models. Who were my other heroes? Margaret Thatcher? Attack Argentina. No time to go wobbly. View quote
John C. Wright
Come on, Amelia. We are not really British. We do not have to look down our noses at honest labor. View quote
John C. Wright
Everything is inanimate, if by that you mean things that operate according to cause and effect. Free will is an epiphenomenon, a misjudgment impressed upon us and sustained by the actions of brain molecules in motion. View quote
John C. Wright
Miss Daw said, half to herself, "Now you have had your first lesson in what it is like to be a real grown-up woman in a man's world, my dear. We are judged by our looks, and men are not.”. (John C. Wright)
Warlocks are something like doctors, I guess. No matter how much you like them personally, there is quite a bit of nasty mess involved in their line of work. View quote
John C. Wright
Death was soon and growing sooner. View quote
John C. Wright
Quentin looked glum and shook his head. "Unleashing the appetites is not freedom, but another type of slavery. Freedom in the absence of virtue will destroy a country as quickly as any tyranny.” Victor said, "Virtue imposed from without is not virtue at all, but merely prudence. A man who avoids lying merely because a law tells him to tell the truth will avoid telling the truth as soon as the law tells him to lie.”. View quote
John C. Wright
No harder than walking a tightrope over a pit. A deep pit. Filled with sharks. Radioactive sharks. View quote
John C. Wright