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1 " He had been quite unprepared for this particular blow, striking under every conceivable kind of armour, and for some minutes he could hardly bear the pain, but sat there blinking in the sun. 'Christ,' he said at last. 'Another day. "
― Patrick O'Brian , Master and Commander (Aubrey & Maturin #1)
2 " You know some minutes warn you they're going to be mighty short and you'd better take a snapshot of 'em while you can. (" Golden Baby" ) "
3 " Not at all," persisted Chalmers, unaware that Shea was trying to shush him. " The people of the country have agreed to call magic 'white' when practised for lawful ends by duly authorized agents of the governing authority, and 'black' when practised by unauthorized persons for criminal ends. That is not to say that the principles of the science — or art — are not the same in either event. You should confine such terms as 'black' and 'white' to the objects for which the magic is performed, and not apply it to the science itself, which like all branches of knowledge is morally neutral —" " But," protested Belphebe, " is't not that the spell used to, let us say, kidnap a worthy citizen be different from that used to trap a malefactor?" " Verbally but not structurally," Chalmers went on. After some minutes of wrangling, Chalmers held up the bone of his drumstick. " I think I can, for instance, conjure the parrot back on this bone — or at least fetch another parrot in place of the one we ate. Will you concede, young lady, that that is a harmless manifestation of the art?" " Aye, for the now," said the girl. " Though I know you schoolmen; say 'I admit this; I concede that,' are ere long one finds oneself conceded into a noose." " Therefore it would be 'white' magic. But suppose I desired the parrot for some — uh — illegal purpose —" " What manner of crime for ensample, good sir?" asked Belphebe." I — uh — can't think just now. Assume that I did. The spell would be the same in either case —" " Ah, but would it?" cried Belphebe. " Let me see you conjure a brace of parrots, one fair, one foul; then truly I'll concede." Chalmers frowned. " Harold, what would be a legal purpose for which to conjure a parrot?" Shea shrugged. " If you really want an answer, no purpose would be as legal as any, unless there's something in gamelaws. Personally I think it's the silliest damned argument — "
4 " She never sent the castle to sleep”, said Granny, “that’s just an old wife’s tale. She just stirred up time a little. It’s not as hard as people think, everyone does it all the time. It’s like rubber, is time, you can stretch it to suit yourself.”Magrat was about to say: That’s not right, time is time, every second lasts a second, that’s its job. The she recalled weeks that had flown past and afternoons that had lasted forever. Some minutes had lasted hours, some hours had gone past so quickly she hadn’t been aware they’d gone past at all.“But that’s just people’s perception, isn’t it?”“Oh yes”, said Granny, “of course it is, it all is, what difference does that make? "
― Terry Pratchett , Wyrd Sisters (Discworld, #6; Witches #2)
5 " If my belief in the God-force-principle-thing had faltered from time to time, it was completely reaffirmed that morning when I considered how completely brilliant a creation was fermentation. From decay came a pleasure sublime enough to keep decay at bay. Only for a few minutes, perhaps, but some minutes are like no others. "
― Tony Hendra , Father Joe: The Man Who Saved My Soul
6 " A book can become your best companion in times of crisis.Not only do you learn in the journey of your pages, but rediscover yourself, with your virtues and defects ... often makes you question everything, even life itself.The books are fantastic, as they not only transport you to other places and the awakening of sensations, curiosity, laughter, hilarity, sadness, etc. Other times, it can give you a quiet space in truculent moments, and lead you to a level of peace, acceptance, healthy optimism, that I will never tire of recommending it.Never stop reading, there are no excuses ... there are always some minutes in any place, at any time and a huge universe for all tastes !!! "
― Elizabeth Hay