“My old man says when it's time to be counted, the important thing is to be man enough to stand up.”
“If you stand up and be counted, from time to time you may get yourself knocked down. But remember this: A man flattened by an opponent can get up again. A man flattened by conformity stays down for good.”
“Hmm..." said the old man, looking at all sides of the book, as if it were some strange object. "This is an important book, but it's really irritating."The boy was shocked. The old man knew how to read, and had already read the book. And if the book was irritating, as the old man had said, the boy still had time to change it for another."It's a book that says the same thing almost all the other books in the world say," continued the old man. "It describes people's inability to choose their own Personal Legends. And it ends up saying that everyone believes the world's greatest lie.""What's the world's greatest lie?" the boy asked, completely surprised."It's this: that at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what's happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate. That's the world's greatest lie.”
“So Old Man Date Rape was number what?" she asks. "Four or five?""We're not counting him," I say. "This is the Twenty Boy Summer, not the Twenty Dirty Old Man Summer.”
“When a man is old enough to do wrong he should be old enough to do right also.”
“Woman!" said the litle man testily. "Get out of my light. You are interfering with my reserarch!"You and your research!" said the woman. "Who cares about that? The important thing is my health elixir. Those two outside are in urgent need of it.""Those two," said the man irritably, "will be far more in need of my help and advice.""Maybe so," said the little woman. "But not until they are well. Move over, old man!"...Atreyu cleared his throat to call attention to his presence..."He's already well," said the little man. "Now it's my turn.""Certainly not! the little woman hissed. "He'll be well when I say so. It'll be your turn when I say it's your turn.”