L.E. Modesitt Jr. Quotes & Sayings

Hatred is a form of faith, distilled by passion to remove all rationality. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Deities are invented by fallible and finite beings in the hope and desire to create immortal perfection; unfortunately, such deities only reflect their creators and inspire their followers to similar imperfections. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

I'd have felt better with Morgen to talk to, to help, but all I had was memory and a soulsong to help me with our ancient cousins from across the stars, cousins so willful they could not see. Cousins even more willful than the ancient heroes my mother had bequeathed to me. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

All life is sorrow. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

They say you can do anything with plastique except play with sparks, but I still treat things that can blow you apart with respect. It can't hurt. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

That's the problem with all of us. We've never time to think about the past, and we're always planning for the future. And since the future's always the future, we never live in the present. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Think about the adiamante." I was too tired to say much more. "It says more than I can." And it did - the hardest manmade substance, and it couldn't stand up to the souls of human beings. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Without power, knowledge is useless. without knowledge, faith is tyranny. Without understanding, humanity is blind, and without all four, it is doomed. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

The locales varied, but the approach was the same - set up the ground rules so that the opposition's only real options appeared unreasonable, illegal, or futile. For years, if not generations, it had worked well. But there were signs that the tactic was getting old, and creating more and more frustration - leading to a social explosion? — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

I was trying to foment a little dissension.' He paused. 'No, that's too flippant. How about trying to make the system less warlike - injecting a little love?' He snorted. 'Through violence, of course, like all religious reformers. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

The empty quarter, the empty half, the empty outside of a full beaker ... why are these the things he looks for? — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Do you really know what they want?" "I don't have an absolute confirmation, but almost anything would be better than what I've prepared for." I laughed hoarsely. "Then, I'll probably find out that what they want is even worse than that. It usually works that way. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

'The One-Eyed Man' is a novel that was one I never intended to write. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

My experiences in the military, the private sector, and as a congressional staffer were at times almost enough to drive me crazy. Writing offered the all-too-often-cited creative outlet. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

We developed a philosophical credo and applied it consistently. We accept that morality, power, and consensus are the underpinnings for any society and work to maintain all three in balance. Trust and mutual respect are, in a way, the mortar that hold the other three together. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

He learned that some things that seemed to make little sense were senseless only from his point of view, not necessarily from someone else's perspective. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

I actually started out as a poet in high school. I published in small literary magazines for probably about ten years. I entered the Yale Younger Poet contest every year, until I was too old to be a younger poet, and I never got more than a form rejection letter from them. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

The difference between truth and honesty is the difference between the riverbed and the river. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

The politicians pose some danger because they are interesting and employ popular vanity and the illusion of ideals to make small changes in society. Small does not necessarily mean insignificant, and for this reason the politicians must be watched. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Sometimes, Johan ... " He offered a self-deprecating grin. "It would be easier to forget the past." I understood, although I didn't know that he knew that. "Sometimes ... but without the past we wouldn't be who we are. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

When the complexity of social patterning is reduced, so is individual freedom. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

In politics, looking at the big picture is the most convenient way to avoid getting bogged down in annoying little details, like the facts. That's why politicians always talk in generalities, such as "balancing the budget" or "obtaining justice under law" or "maintaining meaningful employment," when they really mean "massive spending cuts in programs advocated by my opens," or "creating a religious loophole for my largest contributor," or "keeping open a redundant and wasteful government facility in my district. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Political science came into being as alchemy was being discredited, although history has since proved that alchemy had a better record. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Power cannot be maintained and effectively exercised without a moral structure accepted and practiced by all because power attracts the corruptible and because corruption destroys consensus. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

I guess that showed why the Guard mainly meddles with humanoid cultures. We're opportunists, not real knowledge-seekers, and we just don't have the knowledge base to go beyond humanoid contacts. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

how could so many people talk about the good of Query, and the good of the Guard, and then act in ways basically immoral or destructive just to be a little higher, just to get a star with silver edges instead of gold edges? — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

I started writing poetry in high school because I wanted desperately to write, but somehow, writing stories didn't appeal to me, and I loved the flow and the feel and sense of poetry, especially that of what one might call formal verse. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Hindsight is a lousy gardener, as my father always said. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

A culture that blames the rest of the world or the rest of the galaxy for its ills is likely to stoop to anything. One — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Human technology may have changed, but not human nature, or not that much. Now ... we have people protesting once more that the system isn't fair." He snorted. "Of course it's not. No system is fair. It's only a question of being as fair as possible, given the physical limits of the world and the various limits of the population. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Music must lead people, don't you think?" asked Thies. "If it follows whatever the popular taste happens to be, then what's its value? — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

The greatest of all faults in a politician, and in any leader, is the failure to recognize that charisma has nothing to do with ability, excellence, or goodness. In fact, charisma enables far more the evils of the universe than great and worthy accomplishments, Give me pedestrian accomplishments over charisma any day. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Minds, like parachutes, function better when open, but, like fists, they strike harder when closed. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

The problem with having currency is that any society that controls it eventually debases it and taxes it. Any society that doesn't control it will still have it evolve, and then the currency becomes pegged to outside influences - like the scarcity of precious metals, colored seashells, or large circular rocks with holes in the middle. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Dzin wasn't the problem. It was a tool, and could be misused, like any tool. The problem was that I wasn't a demon in heart and spirit, either, and I didn't know what I was except that being a demon in body had taken everything I had been. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

That is the greatest danger in theology and deities - that they create the impression that goodness cannot be created or maintained by mere humans without divine help. This allows all measure of excuses ... and strange contortions to explain perfectly logical occurrences ... . — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

When the symbolic images developed by the society no longer work, and the images which do work are not those of the society, the individual has nowhere to turn. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Symbolic forms have always been the supports of civilizations, their laws, and their morality. Since symbolic forms are illusions, and illusions sustain civilization, those who rule must maintain illusion. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

What I still didn't understand was how women could vote in a patriarchal, polygamous society and yet how they clearly voted to support the theocracy. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Humans were eventually irrational creatures gifted with the power of rationality. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Tried hard, he did, but trying's not doing. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Of necessity, you will have to maintain her respect becasue I will not have my sister ever disrespected." Bhayar — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

As usual, they'd missed the point, almost as if on purpose. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Life offers no theology. There is but music and dance. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Was there really something to the obsolete idea of a national character? Some countries just changed tyrants, without changing anything else. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Professional interrogators should study mothers. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Every individual's face is no more and no less than a mask. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Out of deference to tradition I did wear a hat to church, weddings, ceremonial occasions, and when my head was cold. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Don't you understand?" asked Cerrelle, her voice that of a teacher to a very young student. "No child asks to be born. No member of any society is given that choice. The only choice you have - the only real choice any of us has - is whether you will be a productive member of society. Society doesn't owe you anything. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Always harder, isn't it, when you start to care again? — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

I only did about one novel a year while I was working full time, but since 1993, I've averaged two and a half books a year. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

If you're not practical, I've found, it can be difficult to hold on to your ideals, — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Never mistake law for justice. Justice is an ideal, and law is a tool. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

A name is only what others want you to believe." He pauses, hoping that the pause will let the meaning sink in. "I am what I am, not what others would have you believe." Martel smiles. "And a pleasant evening to you all. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Then, as he chevies the ancient ones on their way, he opens a tunnel, a tunnel in time, back to when a certain FO star was younger, and without a planet. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

An accurate fact in an incorrect context is an effective lie. As — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

The great problem that the arts have always faced in countries where the populace has too great a say in their funding is that what is funded must reflect popular taste, and, as we in Russia know all too well, popular taste is seldom excellent. Here, we show them what is excellent, and they are grateful. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Energy is matter, and vice versa, and if you can control energy through your mind, theoretically the rest follows. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Behind your reaction is a feeling that whatever is 'true' must be able to be expressed logically. Men, in particular, have a tendency to confuse correct logic with an accurate assessment of a situation. Be careful of any situation that you have to reason through logically, because if you have to work to reason it out, you're probably missing something. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

If I recall correctly, I think I signed my first contract with Tor in 1983. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Someone in my country made a comment along the lines that solutions are always possible if you are willing to let someone else take the credit. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

If you do good because you expect to be rewarded, it is greed. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

The difference between an explanation and an excuse lies with the one receiving it. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

I've often said that there's no one thing that I do or have done that is particularly unique. There have been a lot of other authors who were in the military. There have been a few others who were pilots. There have certainly been a lot of other people who were in politics or served congressional staffs. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Power beyond great power allows honesty and compels those in such a society to demand it. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Death had two meanings - the loss of resources to society and the personal grief of the few who cared. Fersonne's value was less than that of one cargo, and this time, I was one of the few who cared, and I wanted there to be some meaning — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Too often, especially in democratic societies, people mistook the mechanisms of power for power itself. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

In a technological society, the practice of completely private property cannot exist. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

We all feel better when we can defend ourselves. When we can tell ourselves and everyone else that we did what was necessary and no more. That's easy. What's so much harder is doing what is necessary before others see it and when the actions are harsh and unpopular. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

The ancients sought their gods in temples, in worldly goods, in the technology they created, and lastly in the stars. They found neither gods nor enlightenment in the materials of the universe, nor will any wise soul find aught in such but the reflection of sorrow. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

The only absolute truth is change, and death is the only way to stop change. Life is a series of judgments on changing situations, and no ideal, no belief fits every solution. Yet humans need to believe in something beyond themselves. Perhaps all intelligences do. If we do not act on higher motivations, then we can justify any action, no matter how horrible, as necessary for our survival. We are endlessly caught between the need for high moral absolutes - which will fail enough that any absolute can be demonstrated as false - and our tendency for individual judgments to degenerate into self-gratifying and unethical narcissism. Trying to force absolutes on others results in death and destruction, yet failing to act beyond one's self also leads to death and destruction, generally a lot sooner. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

There are two sides to reality. There is what is, and there is what people believe. Seldom — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Life wasn't yes-no, on-off. Life was shades of gray, and rainbows not in the order of the spectrum. Our bodies have always known more than our minds have acknowledged they knew. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Popularity is an element in any system, even the most autocratic and regimented, because it is so much easier to count heads or hands than to evaluate excellence. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Knowledge begets power. "Power begets force. "Force is applied from ignorance." With a smile of habit, I looked at the blond youth on the end. "Sergol? Would you finish it?" "Knowledge leads to ignorance. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Politicians who don't have to face the weaponry they have built have always worried me." "Politicians don't have to worry about facing weaponry of any sort. That's the definition of a politician - someone who gets someone else to pay the bill and take the bullets. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Except for the occasional great person or hero, or tragedy, death has always been personal, affecting one individual and the handful of people who cared about that dead individual. The rest of society went on, and that had been true as far back as the ancient pyramids and great walls, and remained true, and would doubtless remain so into the far future. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

the most important thing was to show strength of will, not when matters were going well, but when they were going badly. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

It really is amazing how some young people feel that short stature and small minds are a sign of superiority. I wonder what ever happened to decency and courtesy? — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

The headline is good - 'World-Renowned Pair Open Concert Reason. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

One can never conclusively prove an idea, only disprove it. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

All life is structure. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

If the body is unmastered, the mind will remain unmastered. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Love of another is merely empty flattery and self-deception for one who cannot accept himself without pretense. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Was attraction and repulsion all a matter of appearances? Or preconceptions? — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

You didn't ask us about whether it was safe to take your troops out of the locial. You told us that was what you were doing. Your assumption was that Old Earth is perfectly safe unless you're warned. Is deep space safe? Would you drop into the sun's photosphere because no one warned you it would incinerate you? Nothing is perfectly safe. We don't provide warning signs to protect you from yourselves. Try to remember that. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Complaining doesn't do any good," I pointed out. "If the person you complain to is the kind who would listen, they've already done what they can, and anyone else either won't listen, doesn't care, or can't do anything. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

I took the stairs two at a time. There's a time for decorum and a time to run like a crazed vorpal's after you, except a crazed vorpal's an oxymoron. This was the time to run. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

I will die, later or sooner, and what I understand will be lost, for when men and women seek truth, what they find is as deceptive as lies, and neither truth nor lies exist outside of a deceptive soul. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Martel also knows Kryn will not accept him, readies himself, drawing his cloak of darkness from the closet of time around the corner from now, preparing to use it at the proper instant. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

No society that places the individual above itself will survive; but neither will any society that places the individual below itself. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Time to face the well-groomed and empty-minded masses." "All young in any culture tend to be empty-minded," I pointed out. "I suspect" we were. "We were probably happier then. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Each hero had a tale, of the old days, and of how he had routed and killed, and set things to right, sometimes to right the right that the hero before him had righted. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

When I was in my late twenties, a friend suggested that, since I was an avid SF reader and had been since I was barely a teenager, that since it didn't look like the poetry was going where I wanted, I might try writing a science fiction story. I did, and the first story I ever wrote was 'The Great American Economy.' — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

I kept watching the trees, as if I could see them grow or something. They didn't. The only thing that grew was their shadows. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Intelligence is overrated by any species that has it, and that's provable by the fact that all intelligent species are outlived by a factor of a hundred to one, if not a thousand to one, by nonintelligent species, who don't have the brains or perversity to destroy themselves or their environments. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Amazing how what you didn't have kept coming to mind. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

To that which is born, death is certain; to that which is dead, birth is certain. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

They belonged to the long and honorable human tradition that had spawned the Luddites, the flat-earthers, various bible-thumping faithies, the scientographers, and the back-earthies, not to mention all the other forms of the true believers that had parasitized human society over the millennia. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Good principles and feelings are far from enough to ensure peace and prosperity - or free actions for people. — L.E. Modesitt Jr.