Tobias Quotes

Dauntless traitors crowded the hallway; the Erudite crowd the execution room, but there, they have made a path for me already. Silently they study me as I walk to the metal table in the center of the room. Jeanine stands a few steps away. The scratches on her face show through hastily applied makeup. She doesn't look at me.

Four cameras dangle from the ceiling, one at each corner of the table. I sit down first, wipe my hands off on my pants, and then lie down.

The table is cold. Frigid, seeping into my skin, into my bones. Appropriate, perhaps, because that is what will happen to my body when all the life leaves it; it will become cold and heavy, heavier than I have ever been. As for the rest of me, I am not sure. Some people believe that I will go nowhere, and maybe they're right, but maybe they're not. Such speculations are no longer useful to me anyway.

Peter slips an electrode beneath the collar of my shirt and presses it to my chest, right over my heart. He then attaches a wire to the electrode and switches on the heart monitor. I hear my heartbeat, fast and strong. Soon, where that steady rhythm was, there will be nothing.

And then rising from within me is a single thought:

I don't want to die.

All those times Tobias scolded me for risking my life, I never took him seriously. I believed that I wanted to be with my parents and for all of this to be over. I was sure I wanted to emulate their self-sacrifice. ~ Veronica Roth

I believe that the short story is as different a form from the novel as poetry is, and the best stories seem to me to be perhaps closer in spirit to poetry than to novels. ~ Tobias Wolff

There were no jobs created in America from 1945, when the war ended, through 2003. How could there be? Taxes were too high. Preposterously so under Eisenhower, Kennedy, Nixon, Reagan (who left office with a 28 percent rate on long-term capital gains) and Bush the Elder. ~ Andrew Tobias

Ours was the marsh country, down by the river, within, as the river wound, twenty miles of the sea. My first most vivid and broad impression of the identity of things seems to me to have been gained on a memorable raw afternoon towards evening. At such a time I found out for certain that this bleak place overgrown with nettles was the churchyard; and that Philip Pirrip, late of this parish, and also Georgiana wife of the above, were dead and buried; and that Alexander, Bartholomew, Abraham, Tobias, and Roger, infant children of the aforesaid, were also dead and buried; and that the dark flat wilderness beyond the churchyard, intersected with dikes and mounds and gates, with scattered cattle feeding on it, was the marshes; and that the low leaden line beyond was the river; and that the distant savage lair from which the wind was rushing was the sea; and that the small bundle of shivers growing afraid of it all and beginning to cry, was Pip. "Hold ~ Charles Dickens

Morning," I say.
"Shh," she says. "If you don't acknowledge it, maybe it will go away. ~ Veronica Roth

We are made to persist. That's how we find out who we are. ~ Tobias Wolff

Tobias presses into the wall behind me, so close to me that his chin floats over my head and I can feel his chest against my shoulders. Shielding me. ~ Veronica Roth

IN ENGLISH, words of Latin origin tend to carry overtones of intellectual, moral and aesthetic "classiness" - overtones which are not carried, as a rule, by their Anglo-Saxon equivalents. "Maternal," for instance, means the same as "motherly," "intoxicated" as "drunk" - but with what subtly important shades of difference! And when Shakespeare needed a name for a comic character, it was Sir Toby Belch that he chose, not Cavalier Tobias Eructation. ~ Aldous Huxley

A novel is a large diffused picture, comprehending the characters of life, disposed in different groups, and exhibited in various attitudes, for the purposes of an uniform plan, and general occurrence, to which every individual figure is subservient. But this plan cannot be executed with propriety, probability, or success, without a principal personage to attract the attention, unite the incidents, unwind the clue of the labyrinth, and at last close the scene, by virtue of his own importance. ~ Tobias Smollett

If we stay together, I'll have to forgive you over and over again, and if you're still in this, you'll have to forgive me over and over again too. So forgiveness isn't the point. What I really should have been trying to figure out is whether we were still good for each other or not ~ Veronica Roth

Not like Tobias, who is almost shy when he smiles, like he is surprised you bothered to look at him in the first place. ~ Veronica Roth

Fearlessness in those without power is maddening to those who have it. ~ Tobias Wolff

A man's opinion of danger varies at different times, in consequence of an irregular tide of animal spirits; and he is actuated by considerations which he dares not avow. ~ Tobias Smollett

I studied screenwriting at film school and was constantly learning how to construct three-act dramas. ~ Tobias Lindholm

I regret ... " Tobias tilts his head, and sighs. "I regret my choice."
"What Choice?"
"Dauntless," he says. "I was born Abnegation. I was planning on leaving Dauntless, and becoming factionless. But I met her, and ... I felt like maybe I could make something more of my decision."
Her. ~ Veronica Roth

Come on,'he says.' I have something else to show you. ~ Veronica Roth

Sometimes I forget that I can hurt you. That you are capable of being hurt ~ Veronica Roth

Everyone has experienced alienation - at some point you go through a moment where you say: "I just want to be left alone." And what is the ultimate point of being alone? - it's dying, of course. ~ Tobias Segal

It was like fishing a swamp, where you feel the tug of something that at first seems promising and then resistant and finally hopeless as you realize that you've snagged the bottom, that you have the whole planet on the other end of your line. ~ Tobias Wolff

How have I never realized before that for all the strong, kind parts of him, there are also hurting, broken parts? ~ Veronica Roth

We have many obligations to this good lady, who is a kind neighbour, an obliging friend, and a most agreeable companion: she speaks English prettily, and is greatly attached to the people and the customs of our nation. They ~ Tobias Smollett

There is such malice, treachery, and dissimulation, even among professed friends and intimate companions, as cannot fail to strike a virtuous mind with horror; and when Vice quits the stage for a moment, her place is immediately occupied by Folly... ~ Tobias Smollett

A piece of writing is a dangerous thing," he said. "It can change your life. ~ Tobias Wolff

All womens not alike, Tobias, she say. Believe it or not.
Oh, I believe it, he say. Just can't prove it to the world. ~ Alice Walker

I'll be your family now." ~ Tobis 'Four ~ Veronica Roth

The harmony of the universe knows only one musical form - the legato; while the symphony of number knows only its opposite - the staccato. All attempts to reconcile this discrepancy are based on the hope that an accelerated staccato may appear to our senses as a legato. ~ Tobias Dantzig

Tobias loved her more than he'd loved anything - his family, his duty, even himself. There, perhaps, the Herondale blood ran true. ~ Cassandra Clare

I had no right to see them this way. ~ Tobias Wolff

My name is Four," I say. "Call me 'Stiff' again and you and I will have a problem. ~ Veronica Roth

The reader really has to step up to the plate and read a short story. ~ Tobias Wolff

Color fills her cheeks, and I think it again: that Johanna Reyes might still be beautiful. Except now I think that she isn't just beautiful in spite of the scar, she's somehow beautiful with it, like Lynn with her buzzed hair, like Tobias with the memories of his father's cruelty that he wears like armor, like my mother in her plain gray clothing. ~ Veronica Roth

If I don't survive," I say, "tell Tobias I didn't want to leave him. ~ Veronica Roth

I've never been a soldier. In Denmark, at 18, as a male, you go in a draw, and if they pick you, you go and serve for a year. I didn't. ~ Tobias Lindholm

I think I might be in love with you. ~ Veronica Roth

When I was about 14 or 15 I decided to become a writer and never for a moment since have I wanted to do anything else. ~ Tobias Wolff

You may have succeeded in shutting down the attack simulation, girl, but it was by luck alone, not skill. I would die of shock if you managed to do anything useful again for a long time
This is the Marcus that Tobias knows. The one who knows right where to hit to cause the most damage. ~ Veronica Roth

I love little theatres because it's very intimate, and you can have a very easy rapport with the audience. Everyone's in the same room. ~ Tobias Menzies

I am not Tobias Eaton, not anymore, never again. I am Dauntless. ~ Veronica Roth

Tobias Buckell combines old world with new in his novel CRYSTAL RAIN. While the rich cultures, drawn in part from Caribbean history and lore, echo a familiar landscape, he brings it out of the Earth milieu and into a bold new universe where technology and tradition collide. I enjoyed his colorful characters and musical use of language; his voice is fresh and entirely readable. ~ Karin Lowachee

I love you." He frowns.
"Say it again."
"Tobias," I say. "I love you. ~ Veronica Roth

Do I think the West End relies too heavily on star names? Yes, I do, and it can result in miscasting and sub-standard stuff. Not always, but occasionally. ~ Tobias Menzies

My mother Elizabeth Ivey Brubeck was a pianist who studied with Dame Myra Hess and Tobias Matthey. As a child in California I used to listen to her play Chopin. ~ Dave Brubeck

My hands folded into fists. "As king, that is my order."
"Forgive me, but the king's order is the most reckless thing he's ever said, which we both know is quite an accomplishment. If you want to stop me from dragging you back to Drylliad, then you'll have to kill me here."
"I can't do that," I said. "Who'll make sure Tobias gets back safely? He can hardly cross a road without endangering himself."
"I can too," Tobias said. ~ Jennifer A. Nielsen

When I think of Tobias it is not with the same feeling as when I think of Khajami. How could it be the same, when a child and a husband demand a different kind of love altogether from your heart? It does not feel as though Tobias is still inside of me. He was my husband, my protector, and I respected him. I miss Tobias, and I am proud that I was his wife. A kind of emptiness and happiness are woven together inside my voice when the other washing women ask me about what my husband was like, and I answer with words that lift up to the sky. ~ Melanie Schnell

It seems like as soon as you have written something, it dictates a story. So I need to be careful. ~ Tobias Lindholm

Ridiculous modes, invented by ignorance, and adopted by folly. ~ Tobias Smollett

I barely remember that I agreed to participate in a genetic test until someone else appears at the door to the dormitory--a boy, or not really a boy, since he looks about as old as I am. He waves to Tris.
"Oh, that's Matthew," she says. "I guess we should get going."
She takes my hand and leads me toward the doorway. Somehow I missed her mentioning that "Matthew" wasn't a crusty old scientist. Or maybe she didn't mention it at all.
Don't be stupid, I think.
Matthew sticks out his hand. "Hi. It's nice to meet you. I'm Matthew."
"Tobias," I say, because "Four" sounds strange here, where people would never identify themselves by how many fears they have. "You too. ~ Veronica Roth

Information is not understanding," Tobias replied, his light-hearted tone replaced with sobriety. "You can give information, but you can never give understanding. ~ Elizabeth C. Mock

He's not the only one who's got people to worry about," Rachel said. "I have a family. We
all do."
"Not me," Tobias said softly. He smiled his sad, crooked smile. "It's true. No one gives a rat's
rear about me."
"I do," Rachel said. ~ K.A. Applegate

Then humming thrice, he assumed a most ridiculous solemnity of aspect, and entered into a learned investigation of the nature of stink...The French were pleased with the putrid effluvia of animal food; and so were the Hottentots in Africa, and the Savages in Greenland; and that the Negroes on the coast of Senegal would not touch fish till it was rotten; strong presumptions in favour of what is generally called stink, as those nations are in a state of nature, undebauched by luxury, unseduced by whim and caprice: that he had reason to believe the stercoraceous flavour, condemned by prejudice as a stink, was, in fact, most agreeable to the organs of smelling; for, that every person who pretended to nauseate the smell of another's excretions, snuffed up his own with particular complacency... ~ Tobias Smollett

We're sorry for frightening you, Tris,' another voice says, 'but anonymity is integral to our operation. We mean you no harm.'
'Let go of me then!' I say, almost growling. All the hands holding me on the wall fall away.
'Who are you?' I demand.
'We are the Alliegiant,' the voice replies. 'And we are many, yet we are no one ... '
I can't help it: I laugh. ~ Veronica Roth

I find that the old Roman baths of this quarter, were found covered by an old burying ground, belonging to the Abbey; through which, in all probability, the water drains in its passage; so that as we drink the decoction of the living bodies at the Pump-room, we swallow the strainings of rotten bones and carcasses at the private bath - I vow to God, the very idea turns my stomach! ~ Tobias Smollett

What writers do is they tell their own story constantly through other people's stories. They imagine other people, and those other people are carrying the burden of their struggles, their questions about themselves. ~ Tobias Wolff

Nobody wants campaign finance reform more than me. It would save me a fortune. ~ Andrew Tobias

Doing scrum" is as meaningless (and impossible) as creating an instance of an abstract class. Scrum is a framework for surfacing organizational dysfunction. It is not a process and it is not prescriptive. ~ Tobias Mayer

To be a writer you need to see things as they are, and to see things as they are you need a certain basic innocence. ~ Tobias Wolff

Since I was a kid. I had this series by Ballantine Books about the history of World Wars I and II. In my 20s, it was the Vietnam War literature of novelists like Tim O'Brien, Philip Caputo, and Tobias Wolff, and then nonfiction such as "A Bright Shining Lie" by Neil Sheehan and "The Best and Brightest" by David Halberstam . Those are the two best histories of Vietnam. ~ George Packer

There's no question young drivers have far more accidents than older ones-but is it our aim to keep them off the roads? Or to allow only rich young people (who can afford the premiums) to drive? ~ Andrew Tobias

In the past I was a vicious hunter. I would stalk my prey with pinpoint accuracy. Ever since Monica came into my life I've abstained from the game. It almost feels strange to stand here and look to the crowd knowing I could pick one and f*ck them into oblivion. I won't though. I may love her, but that isn't the reason. If I were to pick someone for the sake of revenge sex then I'm giving control to Monica and Dalton for betraying me. I'm strong enough to wait. A good hunter is always patient and never stalks in anger.'
'I always crack it until Tobias stops flinching at the sound. It's never the same amount of times. I don't want it to become obvious so I always do it a few more times to create a sense of surprise.
I coil up the leather and with the flick of my wrist I set a perfect line against Monica's back. She yelps in pain and surprise, and Tobias joins her. He thought he'd get the first blow.
I breathe through the pounding in my cock. It beats in time with my rapidly beating heart.
I flick my wrist again taking Monica across the shoulder. I see Tobias tense as she screams. Mustn't allow the slaves to think they are taking even turns. The blow's shock is what makes my cock burn for release. I palm my balls as they tighten, threatening to shoot my release up the stock of my dick. I inhale through my nose and breathe out my mouth until I regain my control.
I flick my wrist again and hit Monica across her thighs. She screams bloody murder at the ceil ~ Erica Chilson

I don't want to write lines where characters tell me exactly how they feel; I want to see people talk about anything but their feelings, like they do in real life. ~ Tobias Lindholm

Want! You must want something. What do you want? ~ Tobias Wolff

How can you be addicted that is something so stupid and simple... like love. ~ Tobias Thomas

MichaelTobias
Evolution does not condemn us. Only our choices can do that. It is imperative that we cherish, nurture, and endeavor to protect all life forms. That is the wake-up call of this generation. No environmentalist can be true to him/herself if they inflict pain on other creatures. Vegetarian ethics is basic to the last ecological frontier. ~ Michael Tobias

At first Eric stares at Four in silence. Four stares back. ~ Veronica Roth

I'm having to protect myself. How do you protect your heart and cover everything? When you don't want to look people in the eye and you're constantly dodging, I fall into it. ~ Tobias Segal

I'LL FIGHT THE BAD DREAMS OFF IF THEY COME TO GET YOU ~ Veronica Roth

And I learned that it's a bad idea to curse if you're in trouble, but a good idea to sing, if you can. ~ Tobias Wolff

It's strange to see people you don't know well in the morning, with sleepy eyes and pillow creases in their cheeks ~ Veronica Roth

It's probably why I'm a short story writer. I tend to remember things in the past in narrative form, in story form, and I grew up around people who told stories all the time. ~ Tobias Wolff

It's getting more difficult to be wise," he says, laughing into my ear.
I smile at him. "I think that's how it's
supposed to be. ~ Veronica Roth

The capital is become an overgrown monster; which like a dropsical head, will in time leave the body and extremities without nourishment and support. ~ Tobias Smollett

And you're the biggest coward," I hissed, then caught my breath in my throat as his blade cut deeper.
"Don't call me a coward," Tobias said, "I'm not!"
"Have you come here to kill me?" I asked. "Because I'll scream when you do and it'll wake up the princess and probably a whole lot of other people and you'll get into trouble."
"You'll be dead."
"Yes, but you'll be in trouble. ~ Jennifer A. Nielsen

I am thinking of Achilles' grief, he said. That famous, terrible, grief. Let me tell you boys something. Such grief can only be told in form. Form is everything. Without it you've got nothing but a stubbed-toe cry - sincere, maybe, for what that's worth, but with no depth or carry. No echo. You may have a grievance but you do not have grief, and grievances are for petitions, not poetry. ~ Tobias Wolff

I do not get to choose what she becomes just because I can't deal with who she is. ~ Veronica Roth

Man's natural life span, 75 to 90 years or so, has not increased. It is the number of us who manage to attain it that has increased. ~ Andrew Tobias

Did your brother make it?" Uriah says.
"Yeah." Finally I see Tobias, his hand gripping Caleb's arm, coming toward us.
"Not sure why an Erudite like you can't get it through his head," Tobias is saying, "but you aren't going to be able to outrun me."
"He's right," says Uriah. "Four's fast. Not as fast as me, but definitely faster than a Nose like you."
Christina laughs. "A what?"
"Nose." Uriah touches the side of his nose. "It's a play on words. 'Knows' with a 'K,' knowledge, Erudite…get it? It's like Stiff."
"The Dauntless have the weirdest slang. Pansycake, Nose…is there a term for the Candor?"
"Of course." Uriah grins. "Jerks."
Christina shoves Uriah, hard, making him drop the flashlight. Tobias, laughing, leads us to the rest of the group, standing a few feet away. ~ Veronica Roth

He pushes his hair, soaked from the snow, out of his eyes. "So what are we going to do, break a window? Look for a back door?"
"I'm just going to walk in," I say. "I'm her son."
"You also betrayed her and left the city when she forbade anyone from doing that," he says, "and she sent people after you to stop you. People with guns."
"You can stay here if you want," I say.
"Where the serum goes, I go," he says. "But if you get shot at, I'm going to grab it and run."
"I don't expect anything more."
He is a strange sort of person. ~ Veronica Roth

Getting from La Jolla to Alta Vista State Hospital isn't easy, unless you have a car or a breakdown. April's Father had a breakdown and they got him there in no time. ~ Tobias Wolff

I find my anger ebbing away, and I'm lost in muffled grief again, this time not just for Tris, but for Uriah, whose smile is burned into my memory. My friend's brother, and then my friend, too, though not for long enough to let his humor work its way into me, not for long enough. ~ Veronica Roth

Writers, to my way of thinking, are no more free in their choices than most people. Our material chooses us; certain things engage us, certain things do not. ~ Tobias Wolff

Fourth, Tobias is a POLITICIAN?!?!?!? Four, the dauntless legend is a politician. Lame. Lastly, that's it? Tris dies, Tobias doesn't get a girlfriend, get married, anything like that, he lives with his mother. Yay!!!!! ~ Amazon Reviewer

You know, there's a word for big, strong men who attack women, and it's coward. ~ Veronica Roth

Tobias' body became a marble statue, and she knew she'd reached the darkness of his soul. ~ Monica Burns

What do
" Tobias's voice. Tobias! "Oh my God. Oh
" "Spare me your blubbering, okay? Peter says. "She's not dead; she's just paralyzed. It'll only last for about a minute. Now get ready to run." I don't understand. How does Peter know? "Let me carry her," Tobias says. "No. You're a better shot than I am. Take my gun. I'll carry her. ~ Veronica Roth

Originally they wanted me to be Buster but I really like the Tobias part. ~ David Cross

What did you do?" I scream.
"You die, I die too. ~ Veronica Roth

There's no such thing as altruism. ~ Andrew Tobias

You will be the first test subject, Tobias. Beatrice, however ... " She smiles. "You are too injured to be of much use to me, so your execution will occur at the conclusion of this meeting."
I try to hide the shudder that goes through me at the word "execution," my shoulder screaming with pain, and look up at Tobias. It's hard to blink tears back when I see the terror in Tobias's wide, dark eyes.
"No," says Tobias. His voice trembles, but his look stern as he shakes his head. "I would rather die."
"I'm afraid you don't have much of a choice in that matter," replies Jeanine lightly.
Tobias takes my face in this hands roughly and kisses me, the pressure of his lips pushing mine apart. I forget my pain and the terror of approaching death and for a moment, I am grateful that the memory of that kiss will be fresh in my mind as I meet my end. ~ Veronica Roth

Two years ago," she says, "I was afraid of spiders, suffocation, walls that inch slowly inward and trap you between them,getting thrown out of Dauntless, uncontrollable bleeding, getting run over by a train, my father's death,public humiliation, and kidnapping by men without faces."
Everyone stares blankly at her.
"Most of you will have anywhere from ten to fifteen years in your fear landscapes. That is the average number," she says.
"What's the lowest number someone has gotten?" asks Lynn.
"In recent years," says Lauren, "four."
I have not looked at Tobias since we were in the cafeteria,but I can't help but look at him now. He keeps his eyes trained on the floor. I knew that four was a low number, low enough to merit a nickname,but I didn't know it was less than half the average.
I glare at my feet.He's exceptional. And now he won't even look at me. ~ Veronica Roth

But as my brother was doing his research for a book about my father, it became his opinion that the most influential anti-semitism my father encountered when he was growing up was from Jews, because his relatives were German Jews, and doctors. ~ Tobias Wolff

Bucky's expression wasn't hostile, but it was serious. "Someday I'm going to fight and you won't be at my back."
"Nonsense. I'm your friend. Who I work for doesn't change that."
"If you leave it too long, you won't have a choice anymore. If the Steam Council turns on the people, each of us is going to have to decide where we belong."
"And you're going to play the rebel? You won't even carry a gun," Tobias snapped. "Your father may own an arms factory, but you make toys for a living."
"I don't carry a gun because I'm too good a shot," Bucky said quietly. "But when I fire, I don't miss. I never want to find you in my sights."
"It's not that simple," Tobias shot back, feeling a need for justification.
Bucky shrugged. "No, but the barons are running out of time, and that means we won't have many more chances to talk before everything falls apart. ~ Emma Jane Holloway

In terms of fiction, there are a number of writers who are thinking about the future of the environment whose work complements mine. Kim Stanley Robinson's novel 2312 is a great example, as is Tobias Buckell's novel Arctic Rising. ~ Annalee Newitz

Tris," Tobias says, crouching next to me. His face is pale, almost yellow.
There is too much I want to say. The first thing that comes out is, "Beatrice."
He laughs weakly.
"Beatrice," he amends, and touches his lips to mine. I curl my fingers into his shirt. ~ Veronica Roth

Trust me when I tell you, Eaton boy, that resisting is worth doing. ~ Veronica Roth

Tris," said tobias. "I love you ~ Veronica Roth

Some men are wise and some are otherwise. ~ Tobias Smollett

In real life, we're not walking around waiting for something to happen. We live our lives, and then suddenly we fall in love with somebody, and it's a big mess because you have a wife already, and it's going to destroy your life. And, at the same time, it's beautiful. Often, in films, it's not like that. ~ Tobias Lindholm

All I can do is stand still- I feel like if I just stand still, I can stop it from being true, I can pretend that everything is all right. ~ Veronica Roth

But successful investors tend to be not too self-destructive. They tend to be patient, they tend not to follow the crowd, and they tend not to be too guilty about winning. ~ Andrew Tobias

Dear Augustus:
I will take care of Hazel if your you take care to Tris.
- Love always Tobias. ~ John Green