Ensuring possibility is kept alive is imperative.

— Steven Redhead

In the presence of Each, values have hidden their faces. Order, loyalty, sacrifice—he cherishes all these words, but exactly what do they represent? Sacrifice for what? Demand what sort of order? He doesn't know. If a value has lost its concrete content, what is left of it? A mere empty form; an imperative that goes unheeded and, all the more furious, demands to be heard and obeyed. The less Each knows what he wants, the more furiously he wants it. Each: the fanaticism of the era with no God. Because all values have hidden their faces, anything can be considered a value. Justice, order—Each seeks them now in the trade union struggle, then in religion; today in police power, tomorrow in the mirage of America, where he dreams of emigrating. He could be a terrorist or a repentant terrorist turning in his comrades, or a party militant or a cult member a kamikaze prepared to sacrifice his life. All the passions rampaging through the bloody history of our time are taken up, unmasked, and terrifyingly displayed in Each's modest adventure.

— Milan Kundera

It is imperative that you know that your activities on earth must have to it some divine purpose.

— Sunday Adelaja

She really was pretty, for a grown-up, but when you are seven, beauty is an abstraction, not an imperative.

— Neil Gaiman

Wake up. If your eyes are sleeping then wipe them gently. You need to be awake for this. It is a matter of life and death. Wake up! If your mind is sleeping then shake it quickly. You need to be awake for this. It is a matter of life and death. Wake up, I said! If your heart is sleeping then beat your chest! You need to be awake for life! You need to be awake for love! It is a matter of living and being alive.

— Kamand Kojouri

We have a fundamental imperative in our lives to matter to others, to serve others, and to support each other in mattering more.

— Tom Hayes