{
  "type": "book",
  "site": {
    "name": "Leafy Quotes",
    "language": "en",
    "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com"
  },
  "formats": "Every page has two versions with the same data: JSON (the page address + .json) and markdown (the page address + .md). Append .json or .md to any `url` in this document.",
  "title": "Cosmopolis",
  "slug": "cosmopolis",
  "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/don-delillo/cosmopolis",
  "json": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/don-delillo/cosmopolis.json",
  "markdown": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/don-delillo/cosmopolis.md",
  "author": {
    "name": "Don DeLillo",
    "slug": "don-delillo",
    "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/don-delillo"
  },
  "cover": "https://quivercdn.com/covers/picador/don-delillo/cosmopolis_978-03-3052-493-3.jpg",
  "quotes_count": 13,
  "quotes": [
    {
      "id": "eb9fd634-a6c8-4bf8-933c-958b5814bbf6",
      "slug": "a-poem-bared",
      "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/don-delillo/cosmopolis/a-poem-bared",
      "text": "A poem bared the moment to things he was not normally prepared to notice.",
      "language": "en",
      "character": null,
      "chapter": null,
      "chapter_parent": null,
      "page": null,
      "verified": false,
      "original": null,
      "other_languages": [],
      "topics": [
        {
          "name": "poetry",
          "slug": "poetry",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/poetry"
        }
      ],
      "source": {
        "name": "Wikiquote",
        "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cosmopolis_(novel)#Quotes",
        "license": {
          "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
          "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"
        }
      },
      "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:58:35"
    },
    {
      "id": "e4658e26-13be-4a2c-8ad8-ef150b3f6515",
      "slug": "it-is-in",
      "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/don-delillo/cosmopolis/it-is-in",
      "text": "It is in me to hurt someone and I haven't always known this. The act and depth of writing will tell me if I'm capable.",
      "language": "en",
      "character": null,
      "chapter": null,
      "chapter_parent": null,
      "page": null,
      "verified": false,
      "original": null,
      "other_languages": [],
      "topics": [
        {
          "name": "writing",
          "slug": "writing",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/writing"
        }
      ],
      "source": {
        "name": "Wikiquote",
        "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cosmopolis_(novel)#Quotes",
        "license": {
          "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
          "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"
        }
      },
      "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:58:35"
    },
    {
      "id": "dc0cc957-40bb-46e0-b836-6b6ce5ada5fb",
      "slug": "to-know-and",
      "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/don-delillo/cosmopolis/to-know-and",
      "text": "To know and not to act is not to know.",
      "language": "en",
      "character": null,
      "chapter": null,
      "chapter_parent": null,
      "page": null,
      "verified": false,
      "original": null,
      "other_languages": [],
      "topics": [
        {
          "name": "knowledge",
          "slug": "knowledge",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/knowledge"
        },
        {
          "name": "taking action",
          "slug": "taking-action",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/taking-action"
        }
      ],
      "source": {
        "name": "Wikiquote",
        "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cosmopolis_(novel)#Quotes",
        "license": {
          "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
          "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"
        }
      },
      "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:58:35"
    },
    {
      "id": "9e1e59f9-74c6-4350-afa0-3116ff9f33d5",
      "slug": "there-are-great",
      "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/don-delillo/cosmopolis/there-are-great",
      "text": "There are great themes running through my mind. The themes of loneliness and human discard. The theme of who do I hate when there's no one left.",
      "language": "en",
      "character": null,
      "chapter": null,
      "chapter_parent": null,
      "page": null,
      "verified": false,
      "original": null,
      "other_languages": [],
      "topics": [
        {
          "name": "loneliness",
          "slug": "loneliness",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/loneliness"
        },
        {
          "name": "hatred",
          "slug": "hatred",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/hatred"
        }
      ],
      "source": {
        "name": "Wikiquote",
        "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cosmopolis_(novel)#Quotes",
        "license": {
          "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
          "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"
        }
      },
      "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:58:35"
    },
    {
      "id": "9874748f-8462-4dee-965f-ac190bfa9a6b",
      "slug": "he-stood-in-the",
      "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/don-delillo/cosmopolis/he-stood-in-the",
      "text": "He stood in the street. There was nothing to do. He hadn't realized this could happen to him. The moment was empty of urgency and purpose. He hadn't planned on this. Where was the life he'd always led? There was nowhere he wanted to go, nothing to think about, no one waiting. How could he take a step in any direction if all directions were the same?",
      "language": "en",
      "character": null,
      "chapter": null,
      "chapter_parent": null,
      "page": null,
      "verified": false,
      "original": null,
      "other_languages": [],
      "topics": [
        {
          "name": "meaning of life",
          "slug": "meaning-of-life",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/meaning-of-life"
        }
      ],
      "source": {
        "name": "Wikiquote",
        "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cosmopolis_(novel)#Quotes",
        "license": {
          "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
          "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"
        }
      },
      "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:58:35"
    },
    {
      "id": "949f20ab-20c1-4bb3-a03a-4b47df642191",
      "slug": "ive-never-liked",
      "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/don-delillo/cosmopolis/ive-never-liked",
      "text": "I've never liked thinking back, going back in time, reviewing the day or the week or the life. To crush and gut. To eviscerate. Power works best when there's no memory attached.",
      "language": "en",
      "character": null,
      "chapter": null,
      "chapter_parent": null,
      "page": null,
      "verified": false,
      "original": null,
      "other_languages": [],
      "topics": [
        {
          "name": "power",
          "slug": "power",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power"
        },
        {
          "name": "memory",
          "slug": "memory",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/memory"
        }
      ],
      "source": {
        "name": "Wikiquote",
        "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cosmopolis_(novel)#Quotes",
        "license": {
          "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
          "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"
        }
      },
      "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:58:35"
    },
    {
      "id": "7ce1c004-dc36-4c39-917d-7522f6e2ba74",
      "slug": "money-makes-time",
      "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/don-delillo/cosmopolis/money-makes-time",
      "text": "Money makes time. It used to be the other way around. Clock time accelerated the rise of capitalism. People stopped thinking about eternity. They began to concentrate on hours, measurable hours, man-hours, using labor more efficiently.",
      "language": "en",
      "character": null,
      "chapter": null,
      "chapter_parent": null,
      "page": null,
      "verified": false,
      "original": null,
      "other_languages": [],
      "topics": [
        {
          "name": "money",
          "slug": "money",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/money"
        },
        {
          "name": "time",
          "slug": "time",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/time"
        }
      ],
      "source": {
        "name": "Wikiquote",
        "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cosmopolis_(novel)#Quotes",
        "license": {
          "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
          "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"
        }
      },
      "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:58:35"
    },
    {
      "id": "7a123fc7-413e-417b-8767-e057a9584c4d",
      "slug": "i-have-become",
      "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/don-delillo/cosmopolis/i-have-become",
      "text": "\"I have become an enigma to myself. So said Saint Augustine. And herein lies my sickness.\"",
      "language": "en",
      "character": null,
      "chapter": null,
      "chapter_parent": null,
      "page": null,
      "verified": false,
      "original": null,
      "other_languages": [],
      "topics": [
        {
          "name": "self-knowledge",
          "slug": "self-knowledge",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-knowledge"
        }
      ],
      "source": {
        "name": "Wikiquote",
        "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cosmopolis_(novel)#Quotes",
        "license": {
          "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
          "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"
        }
      },
      "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:58:35"
    },
    {
      "id": "6ea613d4-0112-457c-82c6-2f394a02ac91",
      "slug": "there-are-dead",
      "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/don-delillo/cosmopolis/there-are-dead",
      "text": "There are dead stars that still shine because their light is trapped in time. Where do I stand in this light, which does not strictly exist?",
      "language": "en",
      "character": null,
      "chapter": null,
      "chapter_parent": null,
      "page": null,
      "verified": false,
      "original": null,
      "other_languages": [],
      "topics": [
        {
          "name": "time",
          "slug": "time",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/time"
        }
      ],
      "source": {
        "name": "Wikiquote",
        "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cosmopolis_(novel)#Quotes",
        "license": {
          "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
          "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"
        }
      },
      "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:58:35"
    },
    {
      "id": "65f4eb47-d938-4f62-a4a0-440c165a4ae0",
      "slug": "maybe-he-felt",
      "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/don-delillo/cosmopolis/maybe-he-felt",
      "text": "Maybe he felt an allegiance to his history. It is one thing to speak around an experience, use it as reference and analogy. But to detail the hellish thing itself, to strangers who will nod and forget, this must seem a betrayal of his pain.",
      "language": "en",
      "character": null,
      "chapter": null,
      "chapter_parent": null,
      "page": null,
      "verified": false,
      "original": null,
      "other_languages": [],
      "topics": [
        {
          "name": "suffering",
          "slug": "suffering",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/suffering"
        },
        {
          "name": "memory",
          "slug": "memory",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/memory"
        }
      ],
      "source": {
        "name": "Wikiquote",
        "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cosmopolis_(novel)#Quotes",
        "license": {
          "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
          "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"
        }
      },
      "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:58:35"
    },
    {
      "id": "56056dd6-3d12-4e29-b9f8-1519be18a707",
      "slug": "when-he-died",
      "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/don-delillo/cosmopolis/when-he-died",
      "text": "When he died he would not end. The world would end.",
      "language": "en",
      "character": null,
      "chapter": null,
      "chapter_parent": null,
      "page": null,
      "verified": false,
      "original": null,
      "other_languages": [],
      "topics": [
        {
          "name": "death",
          "slug": "death",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/death"
        },
        {
          "name": "selfishness",
          "slug": "selfishness",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/selfishness"
        }
      ],
      "source": {
        "name": "Wikiquote",
        "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cosmopolis_(novel)#Quotes",
        "license": {
          "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
          "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"
        }
      },
      "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:58:35"
    },
    {
      "id": "09e79de3-b27c-4819-8203-dfd149e6c37f",
      "slug": "people-think-about",
      "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/don-delillo/cosmopolis/people-think-about",
      "text": "People think about who they are in the stillest hour of the night. I carry this thought, the child's mystery and terror of this thought, I feel this immensity in my soul every second of my life.",
      "language": "en",
      "character": null,
      "chapter": null,
      "chapter_parent": null,
      "page": null,
      "verified": false,
      "original": null,
      "other_languages": [],
      "topics": [
        {
          "name": "self-knowledge",
          "slug": "self-knowledge",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-knowledge"
        }
      ],
      "source": {
        "name": "Wikiquote",
        "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cosmopolis_(novel)#Quotes",
        "license": {
          "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
          "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"
        }
      },
      "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:58:35"
    },
    {
      "id": "0152dc55-b525-4e0d-ada3-e63735a5d417",
      "slug": "computer-power-eliminates",
      "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/don-delillo/cosmopolis/computer-power-eliminates",
      "text": "Computer power eliminates doubt. All doubt rises from past experience. But the past is disappearing. We used to know the past but not the future. This is changing.",
      "language": "en",
      "character": null,
      "chapter": null,
      "chapter_parent": null,
      "page": null,
      "verified": false,
      "original": null,
      "other_languages": [],
      "topics": [
        {
          "name": "technology",
          "slug": "technology",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/technology"
        }
      ],
      "source": {
        "name": "Wikiquote",
        "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cosmopolis_(novel)#Quotes",
        "license": {
          "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
          "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"
        }
      },
      "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:58:35"
    }
  ]
}