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Quote by Kilroy J. Oldster

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Dead Toad Scrolls

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Kilroy J. Oldster

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“On the fifth night, upon the eighth hour, as the fires burned, Abbo was stricken ill by St. Anthony’s Fire. I assumed it was the rye bread he’d eaten as I had eaten the cornbread. I recall telling Abbo to try the cornbread instead, but he never tried rye, and his heart was set on it. I should’ve known better when the merchant smiled, the man never smiles. I think he meant to hurt Abbo...”

“Taking the wrong fork, I veered onto a curious road where the ground grew increasingly higher, and although my heart warned me to turn back, I didn't, for the curiosities of the mind are much stronger than imagined. During the course of my journey, I noticed trees becoming unwieldy, taking shapes my eyes had not seen. What was this peculiarity that battered my mind with such wonderment? There were no signs, nor directories, not even a guide, but my curiosities did not wind, for too eager was I to turn. So, like a child lost to the night, I walked this lonesome patch of gray until coming across a curve where the forest belt spread like wildfire, and the wild weeds and grasses produced a certain beauty not found in other parts.”

“Civil disobedience, as I put it to the audience, was not the problem, despite the warnings of some that it threatened social stability, that it led to anarchy. The greatest danger, I argued, was civil obedience, the submission of individual conscience to governmental authority. Such obedience led to the horrors we saw in totalitarian states, and in liberal states it led to the public's acceptance of war whenever the so-called democratic government decided on it... In such a world, the rule of law maintains things as they are. Therefore, to begin the process of change, to stop a war, to establish justice, it may be necessary to break the law, to commit acts of civil disobedience, as Southern black did, as antiwar protesters did.”

“The courage to begin again comes from recognising that our worth is not measured by uninterrupted success. It lies in our willingness to rise after falling, to try again with new understanding. ... Failure can be a teacher, illuminating what needs adjusting. ... Beginning again does not mean repeating the same steps; it means moving forward with greater wisdom”

“Most of you,' he went on, 'already know how I have been able to limit the area of investigation in a first approximation. But one or two of you are not yet in formed. For you, and to refresh everyone's memory, I'll go over my calculations again.' At that point he gave me a roguish and forceful look demanding my complicity in this adroit falsehood. For naturally everyone was still in the dark. But by this simple ruse, each person had the impression of belonging to a minority, of being among 'one or two not yet in formed', felt himself surrounded by a convinced majority, and was eager to be quickly convinced himself.”