Then every man would be as a god, you see. The result of this, of course, would be that there would no longer be any gods, only men. We would give them knowledge of the sciences and the arts, which we possess, and in so doing we would destroy their simple faith and remove all basis for their hoping that things will be better—for the best way to destroy faith or hope is to let it be realized.

— Roger Zelazny

Then the one called Matariki is really a demon?" asked Take." Yes—and no," said Rama, "If by 'demon' you mean a malefic, supernatural creature, possessed of great powers, life span and the ability to temporarily assume virtually any shape—then the answer is no. This is the generally accepted definition, but it is untrue in one respect."" Oh? And what may that be?"" It is not a supernatural creature."" But it is all those other things?"" Yes."" Then I fail to see what difference it makes whether it be supernatural or not—so long as it is malefic, possesses great powers and life span and has the ability to change its shape at will."" Ah, but it makes a great deal of difference, you see. It is the difference between the unknown and the unknowable, between science and fantasy—it is a matter of essence. The four points of the compass be logic, knowledge, wisdom and the unknown. Some do bow in that final direction. Others advance upon it. To bow before the one is to lose sight of the three. I may submit to the unknown, but never to the unknowable.

— Roger Zelazny

Then you must reconcile yourself to the fact that something is always hurt by any change. If you do this, you will not be hurt yourself.

— Roger Zelazny

There's no such thing as civilization. The word just means the art of living in cities.

— Roger Zelazny

The universe did not invent justice. Man did. Unfortunately, man must reside in the universe.

— Roger Zelazny

Time means a lot to me, paperwork wastes it, and I have always been a firm believer in my right to do anything I cannot be stopped from doing. Which sometimes entails not getting caught at it. This is not quite so bad as it sounds, as I am a decent, civilized, likable guy. So, shading my eyes against the blue and fiery afternoon, I began searching for ways to convince the authorities of this. Lying, I decided, was probably best.

— Roger Zelazny

To paraphrase Oedipus, Hamlet, Lear, and all those guys, "I wish I had known this some time ago.

— Roger Zelazny

Wheels turning, the motorcycle’s roar grows steady, which, too, is a form of silence.

— Roger Zelazny

When inspiration is silent reason tires quickly.

— Roger Zelazny

Why could you not have left me as I was, in the sea of being?"" Because the world has need of your humility, your piety, your great teaching and your Machiavellian scheming.

— Roger Zelazny