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395d74c
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The sparrow still falls.
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Mary Doria Russell |
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7f5d45b
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No matter how dark the tapestry God weaves for us, there's always a thread of grace.
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Mary Doria Russell |
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f0a0a40
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You know, I've always thought it was a tactical mistake for God to love us in the aggregate, when Satan is willing to make a special effort to seduce each of us separately.
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Mary Doria Russell |
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aa20ca1
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Indulge me, John. Cynicism and foul language are the only vices I'm presently capable of. Everything else takes energy or money.
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Mary Doria Russell |
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dea26fc
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Tradition was safety; change was danger.
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danger
tradition
safety
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Mary Doria Russell |
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1712cc3
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The world is filled with unreasonable hate. What's wrong with unreasonable love?
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Mary Doria Russell |
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2462753
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In our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.
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Mary Doria Russell |
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6c3fc40
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Shall I tell you why young men love war? . . . In peace, there are a hundred questions with a thousand answers! In war, there is only one question with one right answer. . . . Going to war makes you a man. It is emotionally exciting and morally restful.
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war
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Mary Doria Russell |
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7c5b81c
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At the risk of descending to unscientific generalizations, 90 percent of Texans give the other 10 percent a bad name." - "
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gamblers
texas
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Mary Doria Russell |
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43928e8
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Ringo's chuckle got tangled up with a cough. He tossed back a shot, cleared his throat, and said, "Politics, from the Latin. , meaning 'many.' meaning 'bloodsucking little bastards."
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politics
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Mary Doria Russell |
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6f60ca4
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There's a saying in Hebrew, 'No matter how dark the tapestry God weaves for us, there's always a thread of grace.
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Mary Doria Russell |
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bb5898a
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We are none of us born into Eden," Doc said reasonably. "world's plenty evil when we get here. Question is, what's the best way to play a bad hand?"..."
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Mary Doria Russell |
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d22fddb
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The dachshund is a perfectly engineered dog. It is precisely long enough for a single standard stroke of the back, but you aren't paying for any superfluous leg.
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Mary Doria Russell |
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67c4683
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Every one of them has a story, and every story begins with a man who failed her. A husband who came home from the war, good for nothin' but drink. A father who didn't come home at all, or a stepfather who did. A brother who should have protected her. A beau who promised marriage and left when he got what he wanted, because he wouldn't marry a slut. If a girl like that has lost her way, it's-because some worthless no-account-sonofabitch left..
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Mary Doria Russell |
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413d714
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Horses are mirrors. They'll show you back whatever you show them. Watch a man with a horse, and you'll see what's inside his own self.
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Mary Doria Russell |
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ba87e34
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You know what I think? Ten percent of any group of human beings are shitheads. Catholics, Jews. Germans, Italians. Pilots, priests. Teachers, doctors, shopkeepers. Ten percent are shitheads. Another ten percent -- salt of the earth! Saints! Give you the shirts off their backs. Most people are in the middle, just trying to get by.
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Mary Doria Russell |
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1e0857c
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The mission, he thought, probably failed because of a series of logical, reasonable, carefully considered decisions, each of which seemed like a good idea at the time. Like most colossal disasters.
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Mary Doria Russell |
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985d4cf
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Dachshunds have their own agenda and can be stubborn about seeing their plans through to completion. What Rosie lacked in consistency, she made up for in enthusiasm. Most of the time when I called her name, she sprinted back, her long ears cocked and flying like a little girl's pigtails. Each encounter was a glorious reunion, even if we'd been parted for only a minute or two. I had never felt so loved.
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love
ears
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Mary Doria Russell |
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f2ff29c
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Home," he said softly. "If there is a more beautiful word in any language, I do not know it."
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Mary Doria Russell |
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f0322a7
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Maybe that's the way to tell the dangerous men from the good ones. A dreamer of the day is dangerous when he believes that others are less: less than their own best selves and certainly less than he is. They exist to follow and flatter him, and to serve his purposes. A true prophet, I suppose, is like a good parent. A true prophet sees others, not himself. He helps them define their own half-formed dreams, and puts himself at their service...
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prophet
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Mary Doria Russell |
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f267ef3
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Have you ever thought about a Twelve Step program for people who talk too much? You could call it On and On Anon.
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funny
humor
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Mary Doria Russell |
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93951e0
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The poor you will always have with you,' Jesus said. A warning, Emilio wondered, or an indictment?
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charity
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Mary Doria Russell |
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6562e28
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It's not easy to be obedient if you suspect your superiors are asses.
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Mary Doria Russell |
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3a8afcd
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The Georgian had used more words in 5 minutes than Wyatt had spoken during 1872 and 1873 combined.
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Mary Doria Russell |
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3f6ce17
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He's not a bad guy, John. It's human nature. He wanted it to be some mistake I made that he wouldn't have made, some flaw in me that he didn't share, so he could believe it wouldn't have happened to him. But it wasn't my fault. It was either blind, dumb, stupid luck from start to finish, in which case, we are all in the wrong business gentleman, or it was a God I cannot worship.
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religion
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Mary Doria Russell |
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762d83a
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Celestina Giuliani learned the word "slander" at her cousin's baptism."
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Mary Doria Russell |
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09e413b
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House-training, I must tell you, is a formality that can elude young dachshunds for some time; this is particularly true in climates that affront their sensibilities with outrageous meteorological insults. Rain, for example, or a startling gust of wind.
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Mary Doria Russell |
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c2a8a64
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God save us from idealists! They dream of a world without injustice, and what crime won't they commit to get it! I swear, Mirella, I'll settle for a world with good manners.
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Mary Doria Russell |
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344e594
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She was held in the tension just before movement, about to walk back toward the house. Later she would think, If I had turned away, I'd have missed the moment he fell in love. He would not remember it that way. What he experienced was not so much the beginning of love as a cessation of pain.
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Mary Doria Russell |
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a0de8a1
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The sign of a good decision is the multiplicity of reasons for it.
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Mary Doria Russell |
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0c21c34
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God will break your heart.
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Mary Doria Russell |
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a6a997f
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Abandon a dachshund and upon your return, you may well be confronted with a small token of her displeasure. This, for the dachshund, is an undignified but necessary form of training. Eventually, you will learn your lesson, which is to take you with her everywhere. When you have finally accepted this, you will be generously rewarded for your good behavior by a jaunty, joyful companion.
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Mary Doria Russell |
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c075eda
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Until you get the measure of your own soul, Jim, don't be quick to condemn a priest, or anyone else for that matter. I'm not scolding you, sweetheart," she said hurriedly. "It's just that, until you've been there, you can't know what it's like to hold yourself to promises you made in good faith a long time ago. Do you hang in there, or cut your losses? Soldier on, or admit defeat and try to make the best of things?" She'd looked a little sh..
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promises
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Mary Doria Russell |
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6ca902e
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Show God what yer made of, man. Pucker up and kiss the cross.
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Mary Doria Russell |
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52af781
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On December 7, 2059, Emilio Sandoz was released from the isolation ward of Salvator Mundi Hospital in the middle of the night and transported in a bread van to the Jesuit residence at Number 5 Borgo Santo Spirito, a few minutes' walk across St. Peter's Square from the Vatican.
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Mary Doria Russell |
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e47b92a
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You know how people say, Don't borrow trouble? Well, said Morgan, I guess it's the opposite of that. Doc is borrowing happiness.
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Mary Doria Russell |
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de86715
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What is it in humans that makes us so eager to believe ill of one another? ... What makes us so hungry for it? Failed idealism, he suspected. We disappoint ourselves and then look around for other failures to convince ourselves: it's not just me. (15)
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science-fiction
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Mary Doria Russell |
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af3eec9
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You know what? I really resent the idea that the only reason someone might be good or moral is because they're religious. I do what I do," Anne said, biting off each word, "without hope of reward or fear of punishment. I do not require heaven or hell to bribe or scare me into acting decently, thank you very much."
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Mary Doria Russell |
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a30dafc
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John] watched the flames for a while. "I would have to say that I find God in serving His children. 'When I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me to drink, I was a stanger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, sick and you cared for me, imprisoned and you came to me.'" The words lingered in the air as the fire popped and hissed softly. Sondoz had stopped pacing and stood motionless in a far corner of the room, h..
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god
love
quiet
fire
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Mary Doria Russell |
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5ae6aba
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She had challenged him on this point one night at Anne and George's, inhibitions weakened by Ronrico: "Explain this Mass to me!" There was a silence as he sat still, apparently looking at the dinner plates and chicken bones. "Consider the Star of David," he said quietly. "Two triangles, one pointing down, one pointing up. I find this a powerful image--the Divine reaching down, humanity reaching upward. And in the center, an intersection, wh..
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Mary Doria Russell |
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19f9846
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Bein' born is craps," he decided. He glanced at Morg and let loose that sly, lopsided smile of his. "How we live is poker."
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Mary Doria Russell |
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8c0cf00
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and yet, in the end, did Klara Hitler's sickly son ever fire a gun? One hollow, hateful little an. One last awful thought: all the harm he ever did was done for him by others.
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Mary Doria Russell |
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a361539
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The problem with atheism, I find, under these circumstances, is that I have no one to despise but myself. If, however, I choose to believe that God is vicious, then at least I have the solace of hating God.
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Mary Doria Russell |
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225e4d3
|
Distressing to be hated because of lies, isn't it." (Mirella) "Especially when there are so many legitimate reasons to be hated." (Schramm)"
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nazis
wwii
world-war-ii
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Mary Doria Russell |