Quotes from Arthur C. Clarke

seem quaint and archaic.

A man may take one step ahead of his culture and chance being called a genius. But if he takes two steps, he is certain to be called a menace, a madman, a fool.

Oh, can it," she said irritably. "I've heard it all before. A Tower of Babel in space, eh? And you're the one to bring it down. How disappointing, how banal!" "Miriam, your mockery can't hurt me anymore. I have found faith," he said. And there was the real problem, she realized.

There was no mistake. The leathery wings, the little horns, the barbed tail - all were there. The most terrible of all legends had come to life, out of the unknown past.

en este mundo moderno lo importante es tener un ideal.

Humanity had lost its ancient gods: now it was old enough to have no need for new ones.

I should have known that a man can receive only what his mind has been prepared to receive, that all else is ignored, or interpreted to suit his prior interpretation—that man can only accept change through it being interpreted as no change, or not knowing it is change.

They did not speak, for the words that were wanted did not exist.

Sometimes when I'm in a bookstore or a library, I am overwhelmed by all the things that I do not know. Then I am seized by a powerful desire to read all the books, one by one.

But to me, MAP was a robot Columbus.

De algum modo, não estava nem um pouco surpreso, nem alarmado. Pelo contrário, tinha uma sensação de expectativa tranquila, como sentirá quando os médicos espaciais lhe haviam aplicado testes com drogas alucinógenas. O mundo ao seu redor era estranho e maravilhoso, mas não havia nada a temer. Ele viajara aqueles milhões de quilômetros em busca de mistério; e agora, ao que parecia, o mistério vinha em sua direção.

The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond them into the impossible

Ja see, mõtles Alvin, mida ta nüüd nägi, ei olnud lihtsalt mälestus. See oli midagi keerukamat - see oli mäluseadme mälestus.

Quando aquele mar de fogo se expandiu abaixo dele, Bowman devia ter sentido medo, mas, curiosamente, agora sentia apenas uma ligeira apreensão. Não que sua mente estivesse entorpecida de maravilhas. A lógica lhe dizia que ele certamente estava sob a proteção de alguma inteligência controladora e quase onipotente.

And just as Columbus's discoveries fixed the geography of Earth forever in human minds, so we learned the geography of the universe

Over the last few decades we've been close to an all-out conflict between Christianity and Islam. If you take a long view, it's absurd; both religions have deep common roots, and both are basically creeds of peace.

E como, em toda a Galáxia, não encontraram nada mais precioso do que a Mente, incentivaram seu despertar em toda a parte. Tornaram-se fazendeiros nos campos de estrelas; plantavam, e às vezes colhiam.

windows of nonsurvivability

Why should I be? Nothing I have seen here in New Eden or on Earth suggests to me that humanity is capable of achieving harmony in its relationship with itself, much less with any other living creatures. Occasionally there is an individual, or even a group, that is able to transcend the basic genetic and environmental drawbacks of the species . . . But these people are miracles, certainly not the norm.

The crew of Apollo 8, who at Christmas 1968 became the first men ever to set eyes upon the lunar Farside, told me that they had been tempted to radio back the discovery of a large black monolith. Alas, discretion prevailed.

Does it not seem strange to you, began Yarlan Zey, that though the skies are open to us, we have tried to bury ourselves in the Earth? It is the beginning of the sickness whose ending you have seen in your age. Humanity is trying to hide; it is frightened of what lies out there in space, and soon it will have closed all the doors that lead into the Universe.

Nothing I have seen here in New Eden or on Earth suggests to me that humanity is capable of achieving harmony in its relationship with itself, much less with any other living creatures.

The most wonderful people in the world are nothing but raging animals when trapped in the throes of jealousy.

Para todos os outros olhos, Saturno sempre havia mostrado todo o seu disco iluminado, inteiramente virado para o Sol. Agora ele era um arco delicado, com os anéis formando uma linha fina que o cortava - como uma flecha prestes a ser disparada, na face do próprio Sol. Também na linha dos anéis estava a estrela brilhante de Titã, e às fagulhas mais fracas das outras luas.