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The Humans

Matt Haig

Top 10 Best Quotes

“Humans, as a rule, don't like mad people unless they are good at painting, and only then once they are dead. But the definition of mad, on Earth, seems to be very unclear and inconsistent. What is perfectly sane in one era turns out to be insane in another. The earliest humans walked around naked with no problem. Certain humans, in humid rainforests mainly, still do so. So, we must conclude that madness is sometimes a question of time, and sometimes of postcode. Basically, the key rule is, if you want to appear sane on Earth you have to be in the right place, wearing the right clothes, saying the right things, and only stepping on the right kind of grass.”

“Make sure, as often as possible, you are doing something you’d be happy to die doing.”

“No one will understand you. It is not, ultimately, that important. What is important is that you understand you.”

“A paradox: The things you don’t need to live—books, art, cinema, wine, and so on—are the things you need to live.”

“Advice for a human. 81. You can't find happiness looking for the meaning of life. Meaning is only the third most important thing. It comes after loving and being. 82. If you think something is ugly, look harder. Ugliness is just a failure of seeing.”

“If getting drunk was how people forgot they were mortal, then hangovers were how they remembered.”

“This was, I would later realise, a planet of things wrapped inside things. Food inside wrappers. Bodies inside clothes. Contempt inside smiles. Everything was hidden away.”

“If you think something is ugly, look harder. Ugliness is just a failure of seeing.”

“So love is about finding the right person to hurt you?” “Pretty much.”

“Knowledge is finite. Wonder is infinite.”

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Book Keywords:

important, ugly, love, humans, mortal, madness, understanding, ugliness, hurt, hangovers, drunk, happy

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