“I’m not against thinking; I’m only against thinking that thinking on its own will get you out of a hole. Shovel also needed.”

“He and I have this... personality conflict. Namely, I think he should get a new one.”

“What you do, the way you think, makes you beautiful.”

“Yes. What you do, the way you think, makes you beautiful.”

“Alek said, "Do you think I'm being a fool?" "I think you're trying to do something good. But doing good is rarely easy, and no weapon has ever stopped a war.”

“Surely no one would ever use such a weapon against a city.""There are no limits in war," Volger said, still staring out the window.”

“Your father always suspected that being pretty-minded is simply the natural state for most people. They want to be vapid and lazy and vain—Maddy glanced at Tally—and selfish. It only takes a twist to lock in that part of their personalities. He always thought that some people could think their way out of it.”