Childhood's End Quotes

“A well-stocked mind is safe from boredom.”

“...no one of intelligence resents the inevitable.”

“The opinions expressed in this book are not those of the author.”

“It had been the Golden Age. But gold was also the color of sunset, of autumn.”

“Evil men could be destroyed, but nothing could be done with good men who were deluded.”

“The evidence is confused with mysticism—perhaps the prime aberration of the human mind.”

“Science can destroy religion by ignoring it as well as by disproving its tenets.”

“Wikipedia: Childhood's End”

“"All political problems," Karellen had once told Stormgren, "can be solved by the correct application of power"”

“Few artists thrive in solitude, and nothing is more stimulating than the conflict of minds with similar interests.”

“Crime had practically vanished. It had become unnecessary and impossible. When no one lacks anything there is no point in stealing.”

““I've invented a new definition for TV,” he muttered gloomily. “I've decided it’s a device for hindering communication between artist and audience.””

“Western man had relearned-what the rest of the world had never forgotten-that there was nothing sinful in leisure as long as it did not degenerate into mere sloth.”

“A century ago we came to your world and saved you from self-destruction. I do not believe that anyone would deny that fact—but what that self-destruction was, you never guessed.”

“Fifty years is ample time to change the world and it's people almost beyond recognition. All that I'd required for the task are a sound knowledge of social engineering, a clear sight of the intended goal- and power”

“All these potentialities, all these latent powers—we do not possess them, nor do we understand them. Our intellects are far more powerful than yours, but there is something in your minds that has always eluded us.”

“What finally decided him was the thought that, if he neglected this incredible opportunity, he would never forgive himself. All the rest of his life would be spent in vain regrets—and nothing could be worse than that.”

“It starts with a single individual—always a child—and then spreads explosively, like the formation of crystals round the first nucleus in a saturated solution. Adults will not be affected, for their minds are already set in an unalterable mould.”

“"If you want a single proof of the essential—how shall I put it—benevolence of the Overlords, think of that cruelty-to-animals order which they made within a month of their arrival. If I had had any doubts about Karellen before, that banished them!"”

“"The buildings round me, the ground, the mountains—everything’s like a glass—I can see through it. [...] The light! From beneath me—inside the Earth—shining upward, through the rocks, the ground, everything—growing brighter, brighter, blinding—"”