"The essense of life is to be found in the frustrations of established order. The universe refuses the deadening influence of complete conformity. And yet in its refusal, it passes toward novel order as a primary requisite for important experience. We have to explain the aim at forms of order, and the aim at novelty of order, and the measure of success, and the measure of failure." Grendel by John Gardner
"A well-proportioned mind is one which shows no particular bias; one of which we may safely say that it will never cause its owner to be confined as a madman, tortured as a heretic, or crucified as a blasphemer. Also, on the other hand, that it will never cause him to be applauded as a prophet, revered as a priest, or exalted as a king." The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy
"He had never known before the strength of the want in his heart for the frequent recognition of a nod, a look, a word; or the immense amount of relief that had been poured into it by drops through such small means. It was even harder than he could have believed possible, to separate in his own conscience his abandonment by all his fellows from a baseless sense of shame and disgrace." Hard Times by Charles Dickens
"And this I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world...And this I must fight against: any idea, religion, or government which limits or destroys the individual." East of Eden by John Steinbeck
"I heard once of an American who so defined faith: 'that which enables us to believe things which we know to be untrue.'" Dracula by Bram Stoker
"Talking nonsense is the sole privilege mankind posesses over other organisms. It's by talking nonsense that one gets to the truth!...The truth won't go away, but life can be knocked on the head and done in." Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky