William S. Burroughs Quotes & Sayings

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

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

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

“Visual art and writing don't exist on an aesthetic hierarchy that positions one above the other, because each is capable of things the other can't do at all. Sometimes one picture is equal to 30 pages of discourse, just as there are things images are completely incapable of communicating.”

“After one look at this planet any visitor from outer space would say 'I want to see the manager.'”

“A paranoid is someone who knows a little of what's going on.”

“I started to write in about 1950; I was thirty-five at the time; there didn't seem to be any strong motivation. I simply was endeavoring to put down in a more or less straightforward journalistic style something about my experiences with addiction and addicts.”

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

“You must learn to exist with no religion, no country, no allies. You must learn to live alone in silence.”

“Be just and if you can't be just, be arbitrary.”