Quotes by William S. Burroughs

“Most of the trouble in this world has been caused by folks who can't mind their own business, because they have no business of their own to mind, any more than a smallpox virus has.”

“Desperation is the raw material of drastic change. Only those who can leave behind everything they have ever believed in can hope to escape.”

“Artists to my mind are the real architects of change, and not the political legislators who implement change after the fact.”

“The way to kill a man or a nation is to cut off his dreams, the way the whites are taking care of the Indians: killing their dreams, their magic, their familiar spirits.”

“The aim of education is the knowledge, not of facts, but of values.”

“Happiness is a byproduct of function, purpose, and conflict those who seek happiness for itself seek victory without war.”

“Your knowledge of what is going on can only be superficial and relative.”

“Your mind will answer most questions if you learn to relax and wait for the answer.”

“Admittedly, a homosexual can be conditioned to react sexually to a woman, or to an old boot for that matter. In fact, both homo - and heterosexual experimental subjects have been conditioned to react sexually to an old boot, and you can save a lot of money that way.”

“Like all pure creatures, cats are practical.”

“In deep sadness there is no place for sentimentality.”

“After a shooting spree, they always want to take the guns away from the people who didn't do it. I sure as hell wouldn't want to live in a society where the only people allowed guns are the police and the military.”

“There couldn't be a society of people who didn't dream. They'd be dead in two weeks.”

“Man is an artifact designed for space travel. He is not designed to remain in his present biologic state any more than a tadpole is designed to remain a tadpole.”

Click here to go back to main page.

Learn more about William S. Burroughs.