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Orson Scott Card

Orson Scott Card Quotes

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Famous Orson Scott Card Quotes

“If I wanted to doubt, then I could doubt endlessly, but at some point a person has to stop questioning and act, and at that point you have to trust something to be true. You have to act as if something is true, and so you choose the thing you have the most reason to believe in, you have to live in the world that you have the most hope in.”

IfsWorldWantBelievePersonsReasonWantedI BelieveDoubtBeing TrueBelieve In GodYou ChooseQuestioningBelieve In YouTrue You
Author:Orson Scott Card
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“America's intellectual community has never been very bright. Or honest. They're all sheep, following whatever the intellectual fashion of the decade happens to be. Demanding that everyone follow their dicta in lockstep. Everyone has to be open-minded and tolerant of the things they believe, but God forbid they should ever concede, even for a moment, that someone who disagrees with them might have some fingerhold of truth.”

ShouldBelieveMomentsMightHappensAmericaCommunityHonestFashionIntellectualFollowingDecadesDisagreeSheepOpen Minded
Book:Shadow of the Hegemon
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“She remembered the story from her childhood, about Adam and Eve in the garden, and the talking snake. Even as a little girl she had said - to the consternation of her family - What kind of idiot was Eve, to believe a snake? But now she understood, for she had heard the voice of the snake and had watched as a wise and powerful man had fallen under its spell. Eat the fruit and you can have the desires of your heart. It's not evil, it's noble and good. You'll be praised for it. And it's delicious.”

MenBelieveHeartKindLittlesSaidStoriesDesireGirlEvilVoicePowerfulTalkingWiseHeardChildhoodUnderstoodGardenFruitNobleIdiotRememberedFallenSpellsAdamDeliciousSnakesAdam And EveGarden Of EdenPowerful ManConsternation
Book:Ender's Game Boxed Set I: Ender's Game, Ender's Shadow, Shadow of the Hegemon
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“If human beings are all monsters, why should I sacrifice anything for them?" "Because they are beautiful monsters..., And when they live in a network of peace and hope, when they trust the world and their deepest hungers are fulfilled, then within that system, that delicate web, there is joy. That is what we live for, to bind the monsters together, to murder their fear and give birth to their beauty.”

IfsWorldGivingShouldHumansTogetherBeautifulJoyHuman BeingsSacrificeBirthMurderHungerMonstersDelicateShould IFulfilled
Book:Wyrms
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“Oh, Val," said Father. "All you have to do is live your life, and everyone around you will be happier." "No greatness, then." "Val," said Mother, "goodness trumps greatness any day." "Not in the history books," said Valentine. "Then the wrong people are writing history, aren't they?" said Father.”

PeopleWritingSaidBookMotherFatherGreatnessTrumpGoodnessLive Your LifeThey SaidValentineHistory BooksWriting History
Book:Ender's Game Boxed Set II: Ender's Game, Ender in Exile, Speak for the Dead
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“Valentine had long ago observed that in a society that expected chastity and fidelity, like Lusitania, the adolescents who controlled and channeled their youthful passions were the ones who grew up to be both strong and civilized. Adolescents in such a community who were either too weak to control themselves or too contemptuous of society's norms to try usually ended up being either sheep or wolves- either mindless members of the herd or predators who took what they could and gave nothing.”

TryingLongPassionStrongCommunityGrewMembersGrew UpWeakExpectedCivilizedControlledSheepLong AgoValentineNormFidelityHerdsChastityPredatorMindlessContemptuous
Book:Xenocide: Volume Three of the Ender Quintet
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“As history shows us, when colonization is voluntary, people will self-select better than any testing system. It’s like those foolish attempts to control immigration to American based on the traits that were deemed desirable, when in fact the only trait that defines Americans historically is “descended from somebody willing to give up everything to live there.” Willingness is the single most important test.”

PeopleGivingImportantSelfFactsShowsWillingGiving UpTestsFoolishImmigrationWillingnessTraitsDesirableTestingSelectColonization
Author:Orson Scott Card
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“Peace. That's what salaam means. Peace unto you." The words brought forth an echo from Ender's memory. His mother's voice reading to him softly, when he was very young. ... The kiss, the word, the peace were with him still. I am only what I remember, and Alai is my friend in a memory so intense that they can't tear him out. Like Valentine, the strongest memory of all.”

MeanStillsRememberYoungMotherReadingVoiceMemoriesTearsKissingMy FriendsIntenseStrongestEchoesValentineEnder
Author:Orson Scott Card
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“The tribe is whatever we believe it is. If we say the tribe is all the Little Ones in the forest, and all the trees, then that is what the tribe is. Even though some of the oldest trees here came from warriors of two different tribes, fallen in battle. We become one tribe because we say we're one tribe." Ender marveled at his mind, this small raman [member of another sentient species]. How few humans were able to grasp this idea, or let it extend beyond the narrow confines of their tribe, their family, their nation.”

IfsMindBelieveHumansLittlesTwoIdeasDifferentAbleNationsTreeBattleMembersSpeciesForestsWarriorFallenTribesEnder
Book:The Ender Quintet
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“You were faster than me. Better than me. I was too old and cautious. Any decent person who knos waht warfare is can never go into battle with a whole heart. But you didn't know. We made sure youo didn't know. You were reckless and brilliant and young. It's waht you were born for.”

KnowsHeartPersonsMadeWholeYoungBornBattleBrilliantFasterDecentWarfareRecklessCautious
Book:Ender's Game Boxed Set II: Ender's Game, Ender in Exile, Speak for the Dead
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