Sam Kean Quotes

“In fact, his travelogues spend amazingly little time discussing his blindness. Only one passage stands out for its frank discussion of his handicap and how it changed his worldview. In it, Holman was reminiscing about a few rendezvous from his past. Disarmingly, he admitted that he had no idea what his paramours looked like, or even whether they were homely. Moreover, he didn't care: by abandoning the standards of the sighted world, he argues, he could tap into a more divine and more authentic beauty. Hearing a woman's voice and feeling her caresses -- and then filling in what was missing with his own fancy -- gave him more pleasure than the mere sight of a women ever had, he said, a pleasure beyond reality. "Are there any who imagine," Holman asked, "that my loss of eyesight must necessarily deny me the enjoyment of such contemplation? How much more do I pity the mental darkness which could give rise to such an error.”

“In fact, his travelogues spend amazingly little time discussing his blindness. Only one passage stands out for its frank discussion of his handicap and how it changed his worldview. In it, Holman was reminiscing about a few rendezvous from his past. Disarmingly, he admitted that he had no idea what his paramours looked like, or even whether they were homely. Moreover, he didn't care: by abandoning the standards of the sighted world, he argues, he could tap into a more divine and more authentic beauty. Hearing a woman's voice and feeling her caresses -- and then filling in what was missing with his own fancy -- gave him more pleasure than the mere sight of a women ever had, he said, a pleasure beyond reality. "Are there any who imagine," Holman asked, "that my loss of eyesight must necessarily deny me the enjoyment of such contemplation? How much more do I pity the mental darkness which could give rise to such an error.”

“I suppose you've heard all those wicked stories about me. Well I've lived my life as it came and I've done bloody marvels with a bad hand.”

“Sometimes you are in the middle of your destiny before you even know it has begun.”

“What if we lived like Jesus really did rise from the dead?”

“Good and Evil are opposite points on a circle, Dr. Chiver. Greater good is just halfway back to Bad.”

“If I had allowed myself to dwell on revenge, it would turn to bitterness, and bitterness is the worst poison a man can give himself.”

“Every four years we go through the same cycle of hope and disillusionment.”

“Remember that sometimes you find your destiny in the places you least expect it.”

“For God and for the future generations.”

“Will you share that path with me always?”“Nothing would please me more.”