As an experienced editor, I disapprove of flashbacks, foreshadowings, and tricksy devices; they belong in the 1980s with M.A.s in postmodernism and chaos theory. David Mitchell More Quotes by David Mitchell More Quotes From David Mitchell Time is the speed at which the past decays. David Mitchell decay speed past I am, emphatically. Mental illness triggered by xperimental error. David Mitchell mental-illness illness errors Yay, Old'uns' Smart mastered sicks, miles, seeds an' made miracles ord'nary, but it din't master one thing, nay, a hunger in the hearts o' humans, yay, a hunger for more. David Mitchell smart miracle heart Beyond the Indian hamlet, upon a forlorn strand, I happened on a trail of recent footprints. David Mitchell forlorn footprint trails Leaves turned to soil beneath my feet. Thus it is, trees eat themselves. David Mitchell soil feet tree - This isn't an interrogation or a trail. Your version of the truth is the only thing that matters. -Truth is singular. It's 'versions' are mistruths. David Mitchell trails truth-is matter For white men, to live is to own, or to try to own more, or to die trying to own more. Their appetites are astonishing! They own wardrobes, slaves, carriages, houses, warehouses, and ships. They own ports, cities, plantations, valleys, mountains, chains of islands. They own this world, its jungles, its skies, and its seas. Yet they complain that Dejima is a prison. They complain they are not free. David Mitchell white-man sea men The music provokes a sharp longing the music soothes. David Mitchell provoking longing Why does any martyr cooperate with his judases?...We see a game beyond the endgame...As Seneca warned Nero: No matter how many of us you kill, you will never kill your successor. David Mitchell nero games doe If we believe that humanity may transcend tooth and claw, if we believe divers races & creeds can share this world as peaceably as the orphans share their candlenut tree, if we believe leaders must be just, violence muzzled, power accountable & the riches of the Earth & its Oceans shared equitably, such a world will come to pass. David Mitchell ocean race believe I remain thankful to God for all his mercies. David Mitchell thankful-to-god mercy Eva. Every day I've climbed up the belfry chanting a lucky chant at one syllable per beat, "To-day-to-day-let-her-be-here-to-day-to-day. David Mitchell chanting beats lucky People pontificate, "Suicide is selfishness." Career churchmen like Pater go a step further and call in a cowardly assault on the living. Oafs argue this specious line for varying reason: to evade fingers of blame, to impress one's audience with one's mental fiber, to vent anger, or just because one lacks the necessary suffering to sympathize. Cowardice is nothing to do with it - suicide takes considerable courage. Japanese have the right idea. No, what's selfish is to demand another to endure an intolerable existence, just to spare families, friends, and enemies a bit of soul-searching. David Mitchell selfish careers suicide The world never stops unmaking what the world never stops making. But who says the world has to make sense? David Mitchell make-sense world Folks with most to complain about seldom complain most. David Mitchell folks complaining History admits no rules; only outcomes. David Mitchell outcomes ...there ain't no journey what don't change you some. David Mitchell dont-change journey Hate eats the hater the way ogres eat little boys. David Mitchell hate littles boys Why fight the 'natural' (oh, weaselly word!) order of things? Why? Because of this--one fine day, a purely predatory world shall consume itself. In an individual, selfishness uglifies the soul; for the human species, selfishness is extinction. David Mitchell fighting soul order One cannot pass by without thinking of the density of men in the ground. David Mitchell density men thinking
