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Quote by Margaret Atwood

Work

Good Bones and Simple Murders

In this gripping mystery novel, the protagonist embarks on a renovation project of an old house, only to discover a series of unsolved murders. The story unfolds as the protagonist delves deeper into the house's dark history, piecing together clues and navigating a web of secrets. more

Author

Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood

Margaret Atwood is a renowned Canadian poet, novelist, playwright, and critic, born on November 18, 1939. Her works are known for their unique style and profound insights into social issues, with notable titles including 'The Handmaid's Tale' and 'Cat's Eye'. more

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“There are some who write for human praise, by means of the noble qualities of the heart that their imagination invents, or that they may have. Me, I use my genius to portray the delights of cruelty! Not momentary, artificial delights; but ones that started with man, and will finish with him. Cannot genius ally itself with cruelty in the secret resolutions of Providence? Or, because one is cruel, can't one have genius? The proof is in my words; all you have to do is listen to me, if you want to... Excuse me, it seemed that my hair was standing upright on my head.”

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“how easily a man who has never been in any great distress, may pass through life without knowing, in his own person at least, anything of the possible goodness of the human heart - or, as I must add with a sigh, of its possible vileness. So a thick curtain of manners is drawn over the features and expression of men's natures, that to the ordinary observer, the two extremities, and the infinite field of varieties which lie between them, are all confounded - the vast and multitudinous line of differences expressed in the gamut or alphabet of elementary sounds.”

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Book:Confessions of an English Opium Eater
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“Los Gingantes [] no se matan entre sí [] ni los gatos matan a los gatos -matan a los ratones- señaló Sofía, [] los guisantes humanos son los únicos que se matan entre sí. [] Los guisantes humanos se aplastan entre ellos sin cesar , se disparan cañones y montan en aerioplanos para arrojarse bombas en la cabeza. [] ¡Los guisantes humanos no dejan de asesinar a otros guisantes humanos! [] (Sofía) empezaba a preguntarse si los humanos eran mejores que los gigantes.”

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“There are strange red depths in the soul of the most commonplace man. I am tenderhearted by nature, and have found my eyes moist many a time over the scream of a wounded hare. Yet the blood lust was on me now. I found myself on my feet emptying one magazine, then the other, clicking open the breech to re-load, snapping it to again, while cheering and yelling with pure ferocity and joy of slaughter as I did so.”

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Book:The Lost World
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“But the mighty course of human destinies proceeds: like the change of season, with measured pace: great designs ripen slowly; stealthily and hesitantly the dark suggestions of deadly malice quit the abysses of mind for the light of day. and, as Horace, with equal truth and beauty observes, "the flying criminal is only followed limpingly by penal retribution.”

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Book:Lectures on Dramatic Art and Literature
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“What is religion? Religion is to be in tune with the whole. Religion is to be in love with the whole. Religion is to be together with the whole. Religion means to listen to our own authentic being. Religion means to listen to the silent voice within ourselves, which will always lead us right. Religion means to realize that God is already available to you, both from the inside and from the outside. Religion means to realize that we are already one with God. Religion means the understanding and awareness that makes your doors open and allow God to enter in. The purpose of reöigion is to dissolve in silence. When you lose yourself for the first time you are yourself. When the ego disappears, we become awareness, joy and spontaneity. We become a vehicle, an instrument for the whole. The three dimensions of existence, the three faces of God, are life, love and light. The first dimension is just the beginning of a great journey, a great pilgrimage. Those who think that life is the end miss the whole point of life. The majority of people Take life as the end. What happens then is that people become greedy for life. Their life becomes full of greed, possessiveness and violence. Life should not be taken for granted. The people that take life for granted are the worldly people and these are the people who have made the world ugly and violent. These are the mundane and mediocre people. They become politicians, hoarders and exploiters. Their whole existence seems to be directed towards one thing: survival. Life lived without love and light is only one-dimensional. Love means introducing a new dimension into your life, which is the dimension of the heart. Love means to introduce joy and delight in your being. Now you don't live only on the one-dimensional horizontal plane. Now you live in two dimensions: life and love. Your life becomes rich. Only by going through the fire of love, one becomes a heart. It is the fire of love that creates the soul. Not having a heart is what makes life meaningless, but millions of people live without a heart. The heart is the spiritual centre of our being. It is only the heart that can bring joy to our life. Never be afraid of love because it is love that will bring you closer to your heart. And it is the heart that can open the doors to God. God can enter only through the heart. God is hidden in our own heart. God is within ourselves, but we seek him outside of ourselves. We seek him in the churches, the temples and the mosques, and we go on missing him. God is not in the scriptures either. God emerges out of your heart. Love people, love trees and love animals. Never miss an opportunity to love. The more you love, the closer you come to God. Love is the bridge to God. How do love and meditation relate to each other? How do relationships and aloneness relate to each other? How do God meet you in different forms in the outside world, and how do God meet in you in the inside world as your own self? In the outside world, in love and relationships, God is meeting you in many different forms. In the inside world, in meditation and aloneness, God is meeting you as your own self. Balance is needed. Love and meditation and relationships and aloneness are a balance between the inner and outer world. Love and meditation, the inner and the outer world. Love and meditation and the inner and outer the world is needed to create a balance. Together these two poles create a wholeness; together they will heal you. Make these two poles part of meditation, so that love and relationships are good to create wholeness. And in the outside world, God is meeting you in many different forms. And when you feel the need again to be alone, God is meeting you as your own self. God is everywhere, so there is no need to choose. There is also a third dimension: light. Light means introducing meditation in your life. It means”

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“Terrorism has no face, but the general mind instinctively attempts to put a face on it based on internally as well as externally predominant biases and knowledge. And the mind does so in the pursuit of self-preservation, because putting a face on an act of terrorism, increases the chances of survival. Once the mind has successfully put a face on terrorism, it tries to avoid intimacy with all the faces that come from similar cultural background. This entire mental process takes place driven by the biological drive for survival. Does this mean that we are biologically bound to act like phobics and racists! And the answer is - we have indeed inherited certain biopsychological drives from our primitive ancestors, but later in our evolutionary history, we also developed the mental capacity to override those primitive traits.”

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Book:Lives to Serve Before I Sleep
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