Martin Raja

“Man is a rational animal. He can think up a reason for anything he wants to believe.”
― Anatole France

“His gaze, though almost improper, was the most sensual thing he could have done at the moment, and it jolted her heart into a strange rhythm, leaving her unable to speak.”
― Anna Durbin, King of Wands

“...but when I try to imagine a faultless love,
Or the life to come, what I hear is the murmur
Of underground streams, what I see is a limestone landscape.”
― W.H. Auden

“If that’s the case for some baboon, just imagine humans. We have to learn our culture’s rationalizations and hypocrisies—thou shalt not kill, unless it’s one of them, in which case here’s a medal. Don’t lie, except if there’s a huge payoff, or it’s a profoundly good act (“Nope, no refugees hiding in my attic, no siree”). Laws to be followed strictly, laws to be ignored, laws to be resisted. Reconciling acting as if each day is your last with today being the first day of the rest of your life.”
― Robert M. Sapolsky, Determined: A Science of Life without Free Will