I hope this is not my legacy

A selection of my favourite quotes:

If one puts forward an idea to a true Englishman – always a rash thing to do – he never dreams of considering whether the idea is right or wrong. The only thing he considers of any importance is whether one believes it oneself. Now, the value of an idea has nothing whatsoever to do with the sincerity of the man who expresses it. Indeed, the probabilities are that the more insincere the man is, the more purely intellectual will the idea be, as in that case it will not be coloured by either his wants, his desires, or his prejudices. – Oscar Wilde (The Picture of Dorian Gray)

There must have been moments even that afternoon where Daisy tumbled short of his dreams- not through her own fault but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion. It had gone beyond her, beyond everything. He had thrown himself into it with a creative passion, adding to it all the time, decking it out with every bright feather that drifted his way. No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart. – F.Scott Fitzgerald (The Great Gatsby)

The proletarians have nothing but their chains to lose. They have the world to gain. – Marx and Engels (The Communist Manifesto)

Yes, man is very strong, greater than God. When You were deceived by Adam and Eve, You drove them out of paradise. When Noah’s generation deceived You, you brought down the flood. When Sodom no loner found favor in Your eyes, You made the sky rain down fire and sulpher. But these men, whom You have betrayed, whom You have allowed to be tortured, butchered, gassed, burned, what do they do? They pray before You! they praise Your name! – Elie Wisel (Night)

Lucille would never understand me because I like too many things and get all confused and hung up running from one falling star to another till I drop. This is the night, what is does to you. I had nothing to offer anybody except my own confusion. – Jack Kerouac (On The Road)