Billy Pilgrim

"The most important thing I have learned is that human beings are nothing but machines."

"How nice—to feel nothing, and still get full credit for being alive."

"The most important thing I learned on Tralfamadore was that when a person dies he only appears to die"

"Whenever I see an especially good-looking young woman, I have to stop myself from saying, 'If this terrible fire-storm catches you, you'll burn to death, so it isn't really important why you痴 you're upset'"

"I am a Tralfamadorian, seeing all time as you might see a stretch of the Rocky Mountains"

"Dresden after the bombing was like the moon now, nothing but minerals"

"That's one thing Earthlings might learn to do, if they tried hard enough: Ignore the awful times and concentrate on the good ones"

"I have this disease late in life. It's a very nice disease. So progressive, so maybe I'll feel better as I go along."

"How nice—to feel nothing, and still get full credit for living."

"The most important thing I have learned is that creative people are happiest."

"A purpose of human life, no matter who is controlling it, is to love whoever is around to be loved."

"She was as devoid of wit as a sidewalk."

"That is my favorite book, The Brothers Karamazov, by Feodor Dostoevski."

"Everything is nothing until you make it something."

"How nice to feel that the excitement of things to come so far transcends mere contentment."

"Mustard gas. First one breath of it you're paralyzed. You're there, see, watching your hands become blue."

"He was quiet for a while. 'I am not at liberty to discuss it,' he said finally."

"Every day I have a wonderful opportunity to do good work and to be of service."

"That was I. That is me. That will be me."

"And I have become a Tralfamadorian now."

"On Tralfamadore, I am the only one who can see the Tralfamadorian perspective."

"She was a student of mine at Cornell, one of the nicest people who ever lived."

"It was very much like heaven, what I saw on Tralfamadore."

"It is just an illusion here on Earth that one moment follows another one, one thing happens and then another."

"And then Billy realized something: that being alive was what the Tralfamadorians called 'being born to die.'"

"There is no why."

"We are here on Earth to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you different."

"How nice—to feel nothing, and still get full credit for being alive."

"The most important thing is the present moment."

"Mother night, cover me."