“We suffer these things and they fade form memory. But daily, hourly, to give up our own possessions and especially to subordinate our own impulses and wishes to to others - these are hard, hard things; and I don t think they ever get any easier. You can strip yourself, you can be stripped, but still you will reach out like an octopus to seek your own comfort, your untroubled time, your ease, your refreshment. It may mean books or music - the gratification of the inner sense - or it may mean food and drink, coffee and cigarettes. The one kind of giving up is no easier than the other.”
“যারা মহৎপ্রাণ, তাঁদের যেকোন অবস্থাতেই, পরের বিপদে নিজের বিপদ মনে থাকে না।”
“Believe me, it is quite unnecessary! I neither know nor care what it cost to redeem Lufra—and if you badger me on this very boring matter I shall not invite you to go with me when I try out my new team!” There was a moment’s tense silence; then Jessamy raised his eyes, no longer glowing, but uncomfortably austere. “Very well, sir,” he said quietly. “Will you tell me, if you please, what I owe you?” “No, young Stiff-rump! I will not!”
“And for the first time, I pity her, because when she says love, I think she really means it. For her, this is love. This is what she does to someone she loves. And I wonder if I am any better, because this is what I did to Zan all those rotations ago. I seduced her until she loved me with all her heart, and when it came time to do what needed to be done, I was willing to sacrifice that love, but she was not.”
“When we are asked to show our love for God, our desire for him, when he asks us as Jesus asked Peter, Lovest thou me? we have to give proof of it. Lovest thou me more than these, more than any human companionship, more than any human love? It is not filth and ugliness, drugs and drink and perversion he is asking us to prefer him to. He is asking us to prefer him to all beauty and loveliness. To all other love. He is giving us a chance to prove our faith, our hope, our charity. It is as hard and painful as Abraham s ordeal, when he thought he was asked to perform a human sacrifice and immolate his son.”
“Mama anaweza kufa ili mwanawe aishi, anaweza kufunga na kuomba ili mwanawe Mungu amsaidie ashinde mtihani wake, anaweza kulala njaa ili mwanawe ale, anaweza kujitolea vitu vingi au mambo mengi katika maisha yake ili mwanawe aishi vizuri, anaweza kuingia dhambini ili mwanawe asamehewe.”
“The only things I truly keep are those things that I give away.”
“Resolution demands a sacrifice.”
“Stay up building your empire if you must, cut all negative ties if you must, sacrifice some things if you must, but above all, never forget the reason why you wanted to be successful.”
“რატომ არ უნდა ღმერთს, რომ საკურთხეველზე რძე დაუსხურონ - ყოფიერების ნამდვილი წვენი, - წვენი, რომელიც მიწის ერთი ბინადრიდან მეორეში გადაიღვრება; ანდა რატომ არ შეიძლება, საკურთხეველზე, როგორც ხნულში, მოუბნიო პეშვით ხორბალი, რისგანაც მერე არსობის პური გამოცხვება?”
“Siku ya kwanza dhambi ya kwanza ilipotendwa Mungu alitoa kafara ya kwanza ya wanyama kwa ajili ya wazazi wetu wa kwanza Adamu na Hawa. Adamu na Hawa walikuwa uchi, baada ya kutenda dhambi, Mungu akawalaani lakini akawapa uwezo wa muda mfupi wa kutubu dhambi zao ili awasamehe! Kutokana na ngozi za wanyama hao walipata mavazi na kutokana na damu ya wanyama hao walipata fursa ya kuishi na kutubu dhambi zote walizozitenda. Bila hivyo wasingepata muda wa kusamehewa.”
“...the true value of an offering isn t measured by how much we give. It s measured by how much we keep... By definition, a sacrifice must involve sacrifice...”
“Put your Isaac on the altar! Then, and only then, will you see what God can do. He cannot give back what you do not give up. But if you surrender yourself to Him, He will provide the ram in the thicket.”