“
We leave a stain, we leave a trail, we leave our imprint. Impurity, cruelty, abuse, error, excrement, semen - there’s no other way to be here. Nothing to do with disobedience. Nothing to do with grace or salvation or redemption. It’s in everyone. Indwelling. Inherent. Defining. The stain that is there before its mark.
”
”
Philip Roth (The Human Stain (The American Trilogy, #3))
“
Do you know the difference between an error and a mistake, Ensign?”
The entire bridge had gone deathly still. Colclazure swallowed again, his face starting to go pale. “No, sir.”
“Anyone can make an error, Ensign. But that error doesn’t become a mistake until you refuse to correct it.
”
”
Timothy Zahn (Heir to the Empire (Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy, #1))
“
People do not thrive under tyrants, Alizayd; they do not come up with innovations when they're busy trying to stay alive, or offer creative ideas when error is punished by the hooves of a karkadann.
”
”
S.A. Chakraborty (The Kingdom of Copper (The Daevabad Trilogy, #2))
“
But slight mistakes accumulate, and grow to gross errors if unchecked.
”
”
Jacqueline Carey (Kushiel's Chosen (Phèdre's Trilogy, #2))
“
That was the problem ... with trusting to the written word ... We were human, mortal and fallible. We forgot, we made errors, argued ambiguities, and twisted meanings to suit our own ends.
And in doing so, mayhap we reshaped the gods themselves.
”
”
Jacqueline Carey (Kushiel's Justice (Imriel's Trilogy, #2))
“
Now arrogance and error would reap the usual dividends
”
”
Rick Atkinson (An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943 (World War II Liberation Trilogy, #1))
“
Then, unprompted, Henry says into the stretching stillness, “Return of the Jedi.” A beat. “What?” “To answer your question,” Henry says. “Yes, I do like Star Wars, and my favorite is Return of the Jedi.” “Oh,” Alex says. “Wow, you’re wrong.” Henry huffs out the tiniest, most poshly indignant puff of air. It smells minty. Alex resists the urge to throw another elbow. “How can I be wrong about my own favorite? It’s a personal truth.” “It’s a personal truth that is wrong and bad.” “Which do you prefer, then? Please show me the error of my ways.” “Okay, Empire.” Henry sniffs. “So dark, though.” “Yeah, which is what makes it good,” Alex says. “It’s the most thematically complex. It’s got the Han and Leia kiss in it, you meet Yoda, Han is at the top of his game, fucking Lando Calrissian, and the best twist in cinematic history. What does Jedi have? Fuckin’ Ewoks.” “Ewoks are iconic.” “Ewoks are stupid.” “But Endor.” “But Hoth. There’s a reason people always call the best, grittiest installment of a trilogy the Empire of the series.” “And I can appreciate that. But isn’t there something to be valued in a happy ending as well?” “Spoken like a true Prince Charming.” “I’m only saying, I like the resolution of Jedi. It ties everything up nicely. And the overall theme you’re intended to take away from the films is hope and love and … er, you know, all that. Which is what Jedi leaves you with a sense of most of all.
”
”
Casey McQuiston (Red, White & Royal Blue)
“
Prima di ripartire doveva tentare di dormire almeno qualche ora, oppure sarebbe crollato durante il viaggio e non poteva permettersi un tale e grossolano errore, non con l’esperienza di guerriero che aveva.
Questa era la differenza tra chi non aveva un’educazione alla guerra e chi aveva vissuto sempre in battaglia. Non c’era cosa peggiore del moto incontrollabile della disperazione per portare un combattente a perdere. La mente avrebbe dovuto essere lucida e pronta, il corpo riposato e forte per vincere. Per chi non aveva la mentalità del guerriero poteva sembrare assurdo anche solo vagliare l’idea del riposo in una simile situazione, ma con la lucidità dell’autocontrollo tipica di un Venator, l’unico modo per vincere era proprio quello.
”
”
Eilan Moon (R.I.P. De Profundis (The R.I.P. Trilogy, #2))
“
In the four years of its existence the Army of the Potomac had to atone for the errors of its generals on many a bitter field. This happened so many times—it was so normal, so much the regular order of things for this unlucky army—that it is hardly possible to take the blunders which marred its various battles and rank them in the order of magnitude of their calamitous stupidity.
”
”
Bruce Catton (Mr. Lincoln's Army (Army of the Potomac Trilogy Book 1))
“
Todo es un error -le dije-. ¿No es eso lo que me has estado diciendo? No existe más que error. Ahí está el meollo del mundo. Nadie encuentra su vida. Eso es la vida.
”
”
Philip Roth (I Married a Communist (The American Trilogy, #2))
“
Men who do not work themselves and who undertake nothing in their lives easily lose patience and fall into error when judging the work of others.
”
”
Ivo Andrić (The Bridge on the Drina (Bosnian Trilogy, #1))
“
We did not fall because of a moral error; we fell because of an intellectual error: that of taking the phenomenal world as real. Therefore we are morally innocent.
”
”
Philip K. Dick (The Valis Trilogy)
“
We forgot, we made errors, argued ambiguities, and twisted meanings to suit our own ends. And in so doing, mayhap we reshaped the gods themselves. Now
”
”
Jacqueline Carey (Kushiel's Justice (Imriel's Trilogy, #2))
“
El error fue probar tu sabor ahora que no me vas a dejar repetirlo.
”
”
Lauren Roberts (Reckless (The Powerless Trilogy, #2))
“
But what do you want me to do, Sir?” “My dear young friend, the golden rule is very simple. There are only two errors which would be fatal to one placed in the peculiar situation which certain parts of your previous conduct have unfortunately created for you. On the one hand, anything like a lack of initiative or enterprise would be disastrous. On the other, the slightest approach to unauthorized action—anything which suggested that you were assuming a liberty of decision which, in all the circumstances, is not really yours—might have consequences from which even I could not protect you. But as long as you keep quite clear of these two extremes, there is no reason (speaking unofficially) why you should not be perfectly safe.
”
”
C.S. Lewis (That Hideous Strength (The Space Trilogy #3))
“
petal of FORGIVENESS, and pray, And forgive us for our errors and debts As we forgive ourselves and all others. Here you must list those who have harmed you, who have given ill witness against you, or who have otherwise caused you pain. And you must forgive them, while praying that they will one day be fully anthropos and realize their own connection to God and remember their own promise. You must ask that anyone you have offended forgive you in the same way, and most of all you must forgive yourself for all the actions and thoughts that have brought shame upon you in your human weaknesses. For while all forgiveness is the balm of our compassionate Mother, self-forgiveness is needed most of all.
”
”
Kathleen McGowan (The Book of Love (Magdalene Line Trilogy, #2))
“
They think they have out-foxed the whiteman when in fact they imitate him. They think they are protecting their wives and children, when in fact they are maiming them. And when the maimed children ask for help, they look elsewhere for the cause. Born out of an old hatred, one that began when one kind of black man scorned another kind and that kind took the hatred to another level, their selfishness had trashed two hundred years of suffering and triumph in a moment of such pomposity and error and callousness it froze the mind. Unbridled by Scripture, deafened by the roar of its own history, Ruby, it seemed to him, was an unnecessary failure. How exquisitely human was the wish for permanent happiness, and how thin human imagination became trying to achieve it.
”
”
Toni Morrison (Paradise (Beloved Trilogy, #3))
“
The laws of history are as absolute as the laws of physics, and if the probabilities of error are greater, it is only because history does not deal with as many humans as physics does atoms, so that individual variations count for more. Seldon predicted a series of crises through the thousand years of growth, each of which would force a new turning of our history into a pre-calculated path. It is those crises which direct us – and therefore a crisis must come now.
”
”
Isaac Asimov (The Foundation Trilogy (Foundation (Publication Order) 1-3))
“
The Hindus teach that the Heaven World is more dangerous for the soul than the Hell World, since it is more deceptive and conduces to the fatal error of overconfidence and assumption of immunity. Like a fighter the soul must be constantly in training lest it grow soft on an ephemeral throne. So the splendor of the palace, the constant parades, the state barges, the gold and lapis lazuli, the chariots and bowmen, eat away one's awareness of the ultimate reality of conflict...
”
”
William S. Burroughs (The Western Lands (The Red Night Trilogy,. #3))
“
We leave a stain, we leave a trail, we leave our imprint. Impurity, cruelty, abuse, error, excrement, semen-there’s no other way to be here. Nothing to do with disobedience. Nothing to do with grace or salvation or redemption. It’s in everyone. Indwelling. Inherent. Defining. The stain that is there before its mark. Without the sing it is there. The stain so intrinsic it doesn’t require a mark. The stain that precedes disobedience, that encompasses disobedience and perplexes all explanation and understanding. It’s why the cleansing is a joke. A barbaric joke at that. The fantasy of purity is appalling. It’s insane. What is the quest to purify, if not more impurity?
”
”
Philip Roth (The Human Stain (The American Trilogy, #3))
“
A language that will at last say what we have to say. For our words no longer correspond to the world. When things were whole, we felt confident that our words could express them. But little by little these things have broken apart, shattered, collapsed into chaos. And yet our words have remained the same. They have not adapted themselves to the new reality. Hence, every time we try to speak of what we see, we speak falsely, distorting the very thing we are trying to represent. It's made a mess of everything. But words, as you yourself understand, are capable of change. The problem is how to demonstrate this. That is why I now work with the simplest means possible - so simple that even a child can grasp what I am saying. Consider a word that refers to a thing - "umbrella", for example. When I say the word "umbrella", you see the object in your mind. You see a kind of stick, with collapsible metal spokes on top that form an armature for a waterproof material which, when opened, will protect you from the rain. This last detail is important. Not only is an umbrella a thing, it is a thing that performs a function - in other words, expresses the will of man. When you stop to think of it, every object is similar to the umbrella, in that it serves a function. A pencil is for writing, a shoe is for wearing, a car is for driving. Now, my question is this. What happens when a thing no longer performs its function ? Is it still the thing or has it become something else ? When you rip the cloth off the umbrella, is the umbrella still an umbrella ? You open the spokes, put them over your head, walk out into the rain, and you get drenched. Is it possible to go one calling this object an umbrella ? In general, people do. At the very limit, they will say the umbrella is broken. To me this is a serious error, the source of all our troubles. Because it can no longer perform its function, the umbrella has ceased to be an umbrella. It might resemble an umbrella, it might once have been an umbrella, but now it has changed into something else. The word, however, has remained the same. Therefore, it can no longer express the thing. It is imprecise; it is false; it hides the thing it is supposed to reveal. And if we cannot even name a common, everyday object that we hold in our hands, how can we expect to speak of the things that truly concern us? Unless we can begin to embody the position of change in the words we use, we will continue to be lost.
”
”
Paul Auster (City of Glass (The New York Trilogy, #1))
“
Questo è tutto ciò che Faunia, nel suo tono freddo e distaccato, stava dicendo alla ragazza che nutriva il serpente: noi lasciamo una macchia, lasciamo una traccia, lasciamo la nostra impronta. Impurità, crudeltà, abuso, errore, escremento, seme: non c'è altro mezzo per essere qui. Nulla a che fare con la disobbedienza. Nulla a che fare con la grazia o la salvezza o la redenzione. E' in ognuno di noi. Insita. Inerente. Qualificante. La macchia che esiste prima del suo segno. Che esiste senza il segno. La macchia così intrinseca che non richiede un segno. La macchia che precede la disobbedienza, che comprende la disobbedienza e frustra ogni spiegazione o ogni comprensione. Ecco perché ogni purificazione è uno scherzo. Uno scherzo crudele, se è per questo. La fantasia della purezza è terrificante. E' folle. Cos'è questa brama di purificazione, se non l'aggiunta di nuove impurità? Della macchia Faunia diceva soltanto che era inevitabile. Questo, ovviamente, era il suo punto di vista: siamo creature irrimediabilmente macchiate. Rassegnata all'orribile, elementare imperfezione.
”
”
Philip Roth (The Human Stain (The American Trilogy, #3))
“
He made a motion that dismissed me. And I rose, but as I did so I took from his tray a little silver knife, all engraved, that he had been using to cut fruit with. I looked him in the eyes as I did so, and quite openly slipped it up my sleeve.
King Shrewd's eyes widened, but he said not a word.
Two nights later, when Chade summoned me, our lessons resumed as if there had never been a pause. He talked, I listened, I played his stone game and never made an error. He gave me an assignment, and we made small jokes together. He showed me how Slink the weasel would dance for a sausage. All was well between us again. But before I left his chambers that night, I walked to his hearth. Without a word, I placed the knife on the center of his mantel shelf. Actually, I drove it, blade first, into the wood of the shelf. Then I left without speaking of it or meeting his eyes. In fact, we never spoke of it.
I believe that the knife is still there.
...
I sat still until I began to wonder if I would do it. Then I lifted my eyes to a silver fruit knife driven deep into Chade's mantelpiece, and I thought I knew the answer.
”
”
Robin Hobb (Assassin's Apprentice (Farseer Trilogy, #1))
“
So...what are you working on now?"
“Right now, an essay about Don Quixote.”
“One of my favorite books.”
“Mine too.”
“What’s the gist?”
“It has to do with the authorship of the books.”
“Is there any question?”
“I mean the book inside the book Cervantes wrote, the one he imagined he was writing.”
“Ah.”
“Cervantes claims he is not the author, that the original text was in Arabic.”
“Right. It’s an attack on make-believe, so he must claim it was real.”
“Precisely. Therefore, the story has to be written by an eyewitness yet Cid Hamete Benengeli, the acknowledged author, never makes an appearance. So who is he? Sancho Panza is of course the witness – illiterate, but with a gift for language. He dictated the story to the barber and the priest, Don Quixote’s friends. They had the manuscript translated into Arabic. Cervantes found the translation and had it rendered back into Spanish. The idea was to hold up a mirror to Don Quixote’s madness so that when he finally read the book himself, he would see the error of his ways. But Don Quixote, in my view, was no mad. He only pretended to be. He engineered the collaboration, and the translation from Arabic back into Spanish. I like to imagine Cervantes hiring Don Quixote in disguise to decipher the story of Don Quixote.”
“But why did Quixote go to such lengths?”
“He wanted to test the gullibility of man. To what extent would people tolerate blasphemies, lies, and nonsense if they gave them amusement? The answer: to any extent. For the book is still amusing us today. That’s finally all anyone wants out of a book. To be amused.
”
”
David Mazzucchelli (City of Glass (The New York Trilogy, #1))
“
Men who do not work themselves and who undertake nothing in their lives easily loose patience and fall into error when judging the work of others.
”
”
Ivo Andrić (The Bridge on the Drina (Bosnian Trilogy, #1))
“
Cualquiera puede cometer un error, subteniente, pero el error no se convierte en equivocación hasta que el causante se niega a corregirlo.
”
”
Timothy Zahn (Heir to the Empire (Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy, #1))
“
If there is conflict between idea and actual, then the idea is in error.
”
”
Jed McKenna (Spiritual Warfare (The Enlightenment Trilogy Book 3))
“
A common error of human judgement made by both Richard and Gertrude, to mistake arrogance for strength, and gentleness for weakness.
”
”
Gretta Curran Browne (Tread Softly on My Dreams (The Liberty Trilogy, #1))
“
You are not a sensitive and will never experience this, but raw data surges, blunt data with errors which are slowly refined like the process of chiselling out a sculpture from a block of marble.
”
”
Tade Thompson (Rosewater (The Wormwood Trilogy, #1))
“
The best part of assembling this pack was discovering how many smart nonfiction writers—people actually investigating what’s true—committed the foolish error of leaving all their best ideas just lying around in books, from where I could easily steal them.
”
”
Richard Farr (The Fire Seekers (The Babel Trilogy, #1))
“
He preferred the trial and error of exposing the negative for too long, then for too little, under the main room light. Of using as a measure the cumbersome kitchen timer, which ticked and grumbled like something from Coppélia. He preferred grunting and cursing in irritation and sweating in the dark and wasting at least six sheets of resin-coated paper before the developer in the washing-up bowl yielded an image even half-way passable, which he laid in the rapid fixer for three minutes. And washed it. And dabbed it with a clean teacloth, probably ruining the cloth for good, he wouldn’t know. And took it upstairs and pegged it to the clothesline.
”
”
John Le Carré (Smiley's People (The Karla Trilogy, #3))
“
People do not thrive under tyrants, Alizayd; they do not come up with innovations when they’re busy trying to stay alive, or offer creative ideas when error is punished by the hooves of a karkadann.
”
”
S.A. Chakraborty (The Kingdom of Copper (The Daevabad Trilogy, #2))
“
El primer error había sido venir a Marte, y luego enamorarse del lugar. Enamorarse de un lugar que el resto del mundo quería destruir.
”
”
Kim Stanley Robinson (Red Mars (Mars Trilogy, #1))
“
Ella didn't like the idea of past errors taking possession of the present.
”
”
Toni Morrison (Beloved (Beloved Trilogy, #1))
“
It’s my name on the company, Malik.” With his free hand, he points to his chest. “I don’t allow gross errors on my projects. Not in judgment, not in code compliance, never in materials.
”
”
Alka Joshi (The Secret Keeper of Jaipur (The Jaipur Trilogy, #2))
“
We were human, mortal and fallible. We forgot, we made errors, argued ambiguities, and twisted meanings to suit our own ends.
”
”
Jacqueline Carey (Kushiel's Justice (Imriel's Trilogy, #2))
“
We were human, mortal and fallible. We forgot, we made errors, argued ambiguities, and twisted meanings to suit our own ends. And in so doing, mayhap we reshaped the gods themselves.
”
”
Jacqueline Carey (Kushiel's Justice (Imriel's Trilogy, #2))
“
As John Paul II once famously said, ‘Descartes got it precisely backwards. It’s not ‘I think therefore I am; It’s rather I am, therefore I think.’’ What I think he’s saying here is that philosophical error draws man away from a fundamental harmony with Original Design, if you will, and the consequences are usually catastrophic. Witness the ‘bloody century.
”
”
Brian J. Gail (Fatherless (American Tragedy Trilogy Book 1))
“
On the bus, thinking over the early years of the Russian revolution, she wondered whether Lenin’s decision to close all newspapers except the Bolshevik ones had been the key error. It meant that, right from the start, alternative ideas had had no circulation and the conventional wisdom could never be challenged.
”
”
Ken Follett (Edge of Eternity (The Century Trilogy Book 3))