226 Quotes by Daniel Keyes

The universe was exploding, each particle away from the next, hurtling us into dark and lonely space, eternally tearing us away from each other – child out of the womb, friend away from friend, moving from each other, each through his own pathway towards the goal-box of solitary death.

I will never know. Whatever the truth is, I must not hate Rose.

I wish this memory were a photograph so that I could tear it up and throw it back into her face.

Intelligence is one of the greatest human gifts. But all too often a search for knowledge drives out the search for love. This is something else I’ve discovered for myself very recently.

No one can ever know in advance if a project is going to result in something useful. Results are often negative. We learn what something is not – and that is as important as a positive discovery to the man who is going to pick up from there. At least he knows what not to do.

She tried to soothe me, to tell me it didn’t matter, that there was no reason to blame myself. But ashamed, and no longer able to control my anguish, I began to sob. There in her arms I cried myself to sleep, and I dreamed of the courtier and the pink-cheeked maiden. But in my dream it was the maiden who held the sword.

My confused feeling for her had been holding me back, and I had to clung to her out of my fear of being forced out on my own, and cut adrift.

What an incredible thing! How much less they had than other human beings. Mentally retarded, deaf, mute – and still eagerly sanding benches.

The most important thing had always been what other people thought – appearances before herself or her family. And righteous about it.