“Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity thrust upon them.”

“Major Major had been born too late and too mediocre. Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity thrust upon them. With Major Major it had been all three. Even among men lacking all distinction he inevitably stood out as a man lacking more distinction than all the rest, and people who met him were always impressed by how unimpressive he was.”

“The tragedy of mediocrity is that even mediocre people shake their heads and mull over how standard are falling.- Serious Men”

“Some men are born sodomites, some achieve sodomy, and some have sodomy thrust upon them...”

“She destroyed egos by the score and made men hate themselves in the morning by the way she found them, used them, and tossed them aside.”

“History did not demand Yossarian's premature demise, justice could be satisfied without it, progress did not hinge upon it, victory did not depend on it. That men would die was a matter of necessity; WHICH men would die, though, was a matter of circumstance, and Yossarian was willing to be the victim of anything but circumstance. But that was war. Just about all he could find in its favor was that it paid well and liberated children from the pernicious influence of their parents.”

“All through the night, men looked at the sky and were saddened by the stars.”