“Only upon death does an organism reach equilibrium with its inanimate environment.”

“Death was not eternal; Death was the only true mortal God ever created. It is no wonder we stare in horror at it ...”

“[To my enemy:] Some are great, some are born great, some have greatness thrust upon them! And then there's you.”

“All malice, real and imagined, Ralegh's and the KIng's, will die upon the instant stroke of an axe. Be buried with him. His faith, then? Whatever remains will be parted. Some will go with the head and some with the headless body. Let them look for each other on Judgment Day. Perhaps on that day, in the haste of it, the bodies of traitors will have to settle for heads other than their own. Some inevitable mismatching of villians and rogues will take place. And one fine bony fellow will spy his skull upon another's body. Then another. And then maybe we shall be witness to the brawl and battle of the bones...”

“When most of us hear the word cells, we think biology. I think penitentiary. (It's an occupational hazard.)”

“In all, 86 per cent of the increased life expectancy was due to decreases in infectious diseases. And the bulk of the decline in infectious disease deaths occurred prior to the age of antibiotics. Less than 4 per cent of the total improvement in life expectancy since 1700s can be credited to twentieth-century advances in medical care.”

“Deep inside, the majority of people had the sneaking suspicion that evil was more powerful than good and could be counteracted only by more evil.”