"Why was I condemned to live in a democracy where every fool's vote is equal to a sensible man's?" — John Wyndham

"In the country you can at least grow things. You do have a chance. But a city is a sort of desert of bricks and stones. Once you've used up what is there, you're done for."

'Somehow running away seldom seems to work out well unless you have a pretty good idea what you're running to."

"We ourselves have a tradition of taking beatings, and then winning wars," said Bocker.