And now, talking of praying, I realize sadly that there will be little point in praying for you. You are passing now to a region where you will be beyond the reach of the power of prayer.

— Anthony Burgess

And yet, in a sense, in choosing to be deprived of the ability to make an ethical choice, you have in a sense really chosen the good.

— Anthony Burgess

The intention to act violently is accompanied by strong feelings of physical distress.

— Anthony Burgess

The sweetest and most heavenly of activities partake in some measure of violence - the act of love, for instance; music, for instance. You must take your chance, boy. The choice has been all yours.

— Anthony Burgess

The thrill of theft, of violence, the urge to live easy - is it worth it when we have undeniable proof, yes, yes, incontrovertible evidence that hell exists?

— Anthony Burgess

Well, everything's a lesson, isn't it? Learning all the time, as you could say.

— Anthony Burgess

What does God want? Does God want goodness or the choice of goodness? Is a man who chooses the bad perhaps in some way better than a man who has the good imposed upon him?

— Anthony Burgess

When we're healthy we respond to the presence of the hateful with fear and nausea.

— Anthony Burgess

You can giddy that everything in this wicked world counts. You can pony that one thing always leads to another. Right right right.

— Anthony Burgess

You got shook and shook till there was nothing left. You lost your name and your body and your self, and you just didn't care.

— Anthony Burgess