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Quote by Laurence Sterne

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The life and opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman

This novel is renowned for its unique narrative structure, which combines elements of the novel of sensibility with the picaresque. It is characterized by its stream-of-consciousness style, philosophical musings, and the author's tendency to interrupt the narrative with lengthy digressions. The story follows the protagonist's life from his birth to his early adulthood, offering a humorous and often critical look at the world around him. more

Author

Laurence Sterne
Laurence Sterne

Laurence Sterne, born on November 24, 1713, and died on March 18, 1768, was a prominent English novelist of the 18th century. He is best known for his novel 'Tristram Shandy', which is considered a pioneer of modern fiction and is renowned for its unique narrative style and profound insights into human nature. more

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“This is surely the main problem of the twentieth century: is it permissible merely to carry out orders and commit one's conscience to someone else's keeping? Can a man do without ideas of his own about good and evil, and merely derive them from the printed instructions and verbal orders of his superiors? Oaths! Those solemn pledges pronounced with a tremor in the voice and intended to defend people against the evildoers: see how easily they can be misdirected to the service of the evildoers and against the people!”

“Oaths are made to be kept only until their purpose be fulfilled," the fluty voice responded. "Every geas is lifted at last, every self-set rule repealed. Otherwise orderliness in life becomes a limitation to growth; discipline, chains; integrity, bondage and evil-doing. You have learned what you can from the world. You have graduated from that huge portion or Nehwon. It now remains that you take up your postgraduate studies in Lankhmar, the highest university of civilized life here.”

“Without a belief in God and the soul, where is the oath? Without the oath, where is the obligation or the pressure to fulfill it? Where is the law that even kings must obey? Where is the Magna Carta, Habeas Corpus, or The bill of Rights? (All of which arose out of attempts to rule by lawless tyranny.) Where is the lifelong fidelity of husband and wife? Where is the safety of the innocent child growing in the womb? Where, in the end, is the safety for any of us from those currently bigger and stronger than we are? And how striking it is that such oaths we use to make us better, not worse.”