“Normality is the Great Neurosis of civilization.”

“You are an ignorant schoolgirl. You think civilization is a good thing.”

“Western civilization was declining too fast for comfort, but too slowly to be very exciting.”

“Civilization is a mutant beast that emerged from the shattered egg of primitive stability.-Sissy Hankshaw”

“The brown paper bag is the only thing civilized man has produced that does not seem out of place in nature.”

“In school you learn that it is the thumb that separates human beings from the lower primates. The thumb is an evolutionary triumph. Because of his thumbs, man can use tools; because he can use tools he can extend his senses, control his environment and increase in sophistication and power. The thumb is the cornerstone of civilization!”

“When we accept small wonders, we qualify ourselves to imagine great wonders.”