| Alcohol Wise: |
| "Two great European narcotics, alcohol and Christianity." Friedrich Nietzsche(1844-1900), German philosopher. Twilight of the Idols, "What the Germans Lack," aph. 2 (1889). |
| For art to exist, for any sort of aesthetic activity or perception to exist, a certain physiological precondition is indispensable: intoxication. Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), German philosopher. Twilight of the Idols, "Expeditions of an Untimely Man," aph. 8 (1889). |
| Like other parties of the kind, it was first silent, then talky, then argumentative, then disputatious, then unintelligible, then altogethery, then inarticulate, and then drunk. When we had reached the last step of this glorious ladder, it was difficult to get down again without stumbling. Lord Byron (1788-1824), English poet. Letter, 31 Oct. 1815, to poet Thomas Moore (published in Byron's Letters and Journals, vol. 4, ed. by Leslie A. Marchand, 1975). |
| The sway of alcohol over mankind is unquestionably due to its power to stimulate the mystical faculties of human nature, usually crushed to earth by the cold facts and dry criticisms of the sober hour. Sobriety diminishes, discriminates, and says no; drunkenness expands, unites, and says yes. The best of life is but intoxication. William James (1842-1910), U.S. psychologist, philosopher. The Varieties of Religious Experience, Lectures 16-17, "Mysticism" (1902). |
| Man, being reasonable, must get drunk; The best of life is but intoxication. Lord Byron (1788-1824), English poet. Don Juan, cto. 2, st. 179. |
| "I do not live in the world of sobriety." Oliver Reed (b. 1938), British screen actor. Quoted in: Sunday Times (London, 27 Dec. 1987). |
| "I'd hate to be a teetotaller. Imagine getting up in the morning and knowing that's as good as you're going to feel all day." Dean Martin (b. 1917), U.S. screen actor, singer. Quoted in: Leslie Halliwell, Halliwell's Filmgoer's Companion (1984). |
| I often sit back and think, "I wish I'd done that," and find out later that I already have. Richard Harris (b. 1932), Irish actor. Quoted in: Sun (London, 19 May 1988), on his drinking. |
| "When I played drunks I had to remain sober because I didn't know how to play them when I was drunk." Richard Burton (1925-84), British stage and screen actor. Quoted in: Leslie Halliwell, Halliwell's Filmgoer's Companion (1984). |
| I believe, if we take habitual drunkards as a class, their heads and their hearts will bear an advantageous comparison with those of any other class. There seems ever to have been a proneness in the brilliant and warm-blooded to fall into this vice. Abraham Lincoln (1809-65), U.S. president. Speech, 22 Feb. 1842, to the Washingtonian Temperance Society, Springfield, Ill. (published in The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, vol. 1, ed. by Roy P. Basler, 1953). |
| Silly S.F. Wise: |
| The first was a woman of about forty five and she'd been attractive until someone had hewn her almost in half. Lionel and Patricia Fanthorpe, The Black Lion |
| And his ears - there was something very odd about the lobes of his ears. They lay close to his head, and they were, very, very long - unnatural lobes, appended to unusual ears. Wherever you went it seems that great uncle Roderick's ears were following you. Lionel Fanthorpe, The Golden Chalice |
| The great roe is a mythological beast with the head of a lion and the body of a lion, though not the same lion. Woody Allen, Without Feathers |
| I don't eat anything that giggles. Robert Sheckley, One Man's Poison |
| Few townspeople ever came near the collapsed timbers, except maybe to pick up the charred kindling from among the long-dead ashes, or courting couples. Victor Norwood, Night of the Black Horror |
| There was no time for thought or pity. The Mongs sacrificed dung people as they stepped on beetles. Jefffrey Lord, Blade: The Jade Warrior |
| Suffice it to say that your arrival was like a turd falling into a Ming vase. John Varley, Demon |
| ...the unmistakable adoration in her voice escaped Doc's notice. Lester Dent, Doc Savage: Man of Bronze |
| His visage was littered with broken possibilities, wrecked faiths and loves, but behind his feathers his scull shone with pale malice. Stephen Donaldson, The Power That Preserves |
| Nothing much happened in those weeks; yet each day and night was pregnant with happening. Sue Payer, The Second Body |
| Her green dress stuck like glue to her body, making her look lumpy. "What's wrong, Ann?" "I'm scared," she spat out. Robert Petyo, The Institute |
| Don Pedro: That swamp is a very mysterious and sinister place. Sceptic al Gringo: I don't buy those superstitions. Don Pedro: Steers don't jump in swamps. The Beast of Hollow Mountain, 1956 |
| The light bothered Henry's eyes. He suffered a trauma in early childhood. His mother was killed by a gas heater. He hasn't adjusted to society yet. The Vampire, 1957 |
| Peasant: I say let's all go up there. Put a stake through their evil hearts! Landlord: Calm down, Hans. Lust for a Vampire, 1971 |
| One thing is established, the criminal had wings. The Flying Serpent, 1946 |
| Heroine: Are you sure it was something human? Cop: Only human beings wear sandals. The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake, 1959 |
| Tell me, doctor, could this severed body here have been caused by that chainsaw over there? Pieces, 1982 |
| Every bone in his body must be broken, but I'm not sure that's what killed him. It! The Terror from Beyond Space, 1958 |
| The person that killed those two men used a set of false teeth. The Rogue's Tavern, 1936 |
| Cop: When you get him to town, make out a coroner's report. Put down Jack Flynn for the name, and for the cause of death... Doc: He was eaten by a spider. Cop: Just write "unknown" and let the coroner figure it out for himself. That's the trouble with you eggheads, you jump to conclusions. The Spider, 1958 |
| Ground Control: All personnel clear the flight deck without delay! Spaceman: What's the reason for doing that that? Ground Control: Someone could get hurt in the blast off. The Amazing Colossal Man, 1957 |
| Mad Doctor, explaining Human/Gorilla Brain Transplant: He's gonna be smart, and you'll be ... not so smart. The Strange Case of Dr Rx, 1942 |
| Ill respect you when you stop making me feel sick. Crucicble of Terror, 1972 |
| The hunchback will have something to say about this. Hawk the Slayer, 1982 |
| Is professor Saxton's fossil still at large? Horror Express, 1972 |
| You know it's odd, this head living on your dead assistant's body. Man Without a Body, 1958 |
| He did seem to be more normal, 'till we took off the chains. The Oblong Box, 1969 |
| Distressed Citizen: Officer, my husband. He's in an iron lung. It stopped! Harassed Cop: Then what are you doing out here? Get back inside and operate it manually. It Conquered the World, 1956 |
| Dick Wise: |
| Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. Philip K. Dick (1928-82), U.S. science fiction writer. Definition given in 1972.Quoted by Dick in: I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon, "How to Build a Universe That Doesn't Fall Apart Two Days Later," Introduction (1986). |
| I must admit that the existence of Disneyland (which I know is real) proves that we are not living in Judaea in 50 AD.... Saint Paul would never go near Disneyland. Only children, tourists, and visiting Soviet high officials ever go to Disneyland. Saints do not. Philip K. Dick (1928-82), U.S. science fiction writer. Introduction, I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon, "How to Build a Universe That Doesn't Fall Apart Two Days Later" (1986). |
| Someday a human being may shoot a robot which has come out of the General Electrics factory, and to his surprise see it weep and bleed. And the dying robot may shoot back and, to its surprise, see a wisp of grey smoke arise from the electric pump that it supposed was the human’s beating heart. It would be rather a great moment of truth for both of them.
Philip K. Dick (1928-82), U.S. science fiction writer. The Android and the Human |
| Groucho Wise: |
| Please accept my resignation. I don't care to belong to any club that will have me as a member. Groucho Marx(1895-1977), U.S. comic actor. Letter to Hollywood's Friar's Club. Quoted in: Arthur Sheekman, The Groucho Letters, Introduction (1967). |
| I did toy with the idea of doing a cook-book.... The recipes were to be the routine ones: how to make dry toast, instant coffee, hearts of lettuce and brownies. But as an added attraction, at no extra charge, my idea was to put a fried egg on the cover. I think a lot of people who hate literature but love fried eggs would buy it if the price was right. Groucho Marx(1895-1977), U.S. comic actor. Groucho and Me, ch. 1 (1959). |
| Either he's dead or my watch has stopped. Groucho Marx A Day at the Races (script by Robert Pirosh, George Seaton and George Oppenheimer, 1937). |
| Psych 101 Wise: |
| Doubt is to certainty as neurosis is to psychosis. The neurotic is in doubt and has fears about persons and things; the psychotic has convictions and makes claims about them. In short, the neurotic has problems, the psychotic has solutions. Thomas Szasz, (b. 1920), U.S. psychiatrist. The Second Sin, "Mental Illness" (1973). |
| There is a mountain which must be crossed. The sane person sees the mountain and works to solve the problem of crossing it. The neurotic sees the mountain, realises they must make an effort at it - but loses direction and goes off to play instead. The psychotic sees not a mountain, but an entire vista - and sits down to contemplate the changing scenery.
J. Le Comte, 1981 (unpublished) |
| Suicide Wise: |
| "It is always consoling to think of suicide: in that way one gets through many a bad night." Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), German philosopher. Beyond Good and Evil, ch. 4, aph. 157 (1886). |
| One said of suicide, "As long as one has brains one should not blow them out." And another answered, "But when one has ceased to have them, too often one cannot." F. H. Bradley (1846-1924), English philosopher. Aphorisms, no. 48 (1930). |
| The woman is perfected Her dead Body wears the smile of accomplishment Sylvia Plath (1932-63), U.S. poet. First lines of Edge. This was Plath's last poem, written a week before her suicide. |
| "It is not worth the bother of killing yourself, since you always kill yourself too late." E. M. Cioran (b. 1911), Rumanian-born French philosopher. The Trouble with Being Born, ch. 2 (1973). |
| I myself spent nine years in an insane asylum and I never had the obsession of suicide, but I know that each conversation with a psychiatrist, every morning at the time of his visit, made me want to hang myself, realizing that I would not be able to cut his throat. E. M. Cioran (b. 1911), Rumanian-born French philosopher. The Trouble with Being Born, ch. 2 (1973). |
| I am just going outside and may be some time. Lawrence Oates (1880-1912), English soldier, explorer. Quoted in: Scott's Last Expedition, vol. 1, ch. 20 (ed. by L. Huxley, 1913), diary entry for 16-17 March 1912 These were Oates' last words, before walking out into an Antarctic blizzard on Captain Scott's ill-fated expedition to the South Pole. Scott recorded, "We knew it was the act of a brave man and an English gentleman." |
