Barry Hughart quotes:

Don't be ashamed of reliving your childhood, Ox, because all of us must do it now and then to maintain our sanity.

The emotional health of a village depended upon having a man whom everyone loved to hate, and Heaven had blessed us with two of them.

Occasionally a moderately intelligent thought misses a turn and accidentally enters my mind

Fable has strong shoulders that carry far more truth than fact can.

Ox, at an early age a Chinese genius gazes at the path that lies ahead and reaches for a wine jar," Master Li saidIs it any wonder that our greatest men have lurched rather than walked across the landscape as they hiccuped their way into history?"

Blessed are the idiots, for they are happiest people on earth.

The supernatural can be very annoying until one finds the key that transforms it into science," he observed mildly... "Come on, Ox, let's go out and get killed.

'Immortality is only for the gods,' he whispered. 'I wonder how they can stand it.'

Error can point the way to truth, while empty-headedness can only lead to more empty-headedness or to a career in politics.

I have never been able to understand why perfectly sensible people waste time being wittily obscure instead of just saying what they want and going on about their business.

Our senses are woefully limited. Our brains are but tiny candles flickering in an infinity of darkness. Our only wisdom is to admit that we cannot understand, and since we cannot understand we must do the best we can with faith. which is our only talent. The greatest act of faith we are capable of is that of loving another more than we love ourselves, and occasionally we can be quite good at it.

A fool will study for twenty or thirty years and learn how to do something, but a wise man will study for twenty or thirty minutes and become an expert. In this world, it isn't ability that counts, but authority.

I shall clasp my hands together and bow to the corners of the world. May your villages remain ignorant of tax collectors, and may your sons be many and ugly and strong and willing workers, and may your daughters be few and beautiful and excellent providers of love gifts from eminent families that live very far away, and may your lives be blessed by the beauty that has touched mine. Farewell.