Names, once they are in common use, quickly become mere sounds, their etymology being buried, like so many of the earth's marvels, beneath the dust of habit.

Quote by Salman Rushdie

Topics: Salman Rushdie Quotes

If I were asked for a one-sentence sound bite on religion, I would say I...

If I were asked for a one-sentence sound bite on religion, I would say I...

I hate admitting that my enemies have a point.

I hate admitting that my enemies have a point.

A poet's work is to name the unnameable, to point at frauds, to take sides,...

A poet's work is to name the unnameable, to point at frauds, to take sides,...

When thought becomes excessively painful, action is the finest remedy

When thought becomes excessively painful, action is the finest remedy

Writers and politicians are natural rivals. Both groups try to make the world in their...

Writers and politicians are natural rivals. Both groups try to make the world in their...

One of the extraordinary things about human events is that the unthinkable becomes thinkable.

One of the extraordinary things about human events is that the unthinkable becomes thinkable.

The idea of the sacred is quite simply one of the most conservative notions in...

The idea of the sacred is quite simply one of the most conservative notions in...

Sometimes legends make reality, and become more useful than the facts.

Sometimes legends make reality, and become more useful than the facts.

The acceptance that all that is solid has melted into the air, that reality and...

The acceptance that all that is solid has melted into the air, that reality and...

Free speech is the whole thing, the whole ball game. Free speech is life itself.

Free speech is the whole thing, the whole ball game. Free speech is life itself.

Vertigo is the conflict between the fear of falling and the desire to fall.

Vertigo is the conflict between the fear of falling and the desire to fall.

Whores and writers, Mahound. We are the people you can't forgive.

Whores and writers, Mahound. We are the people you can't forgive.

Such is the miraculous nature of the future of exiles: what is first uttered in...

Such is the miraculous nature of the future of exiles: what is first uttered in...

I used to say, 'There is a God-shaped hole in me.' For a long time...

I used to say, 'There is a God-shaped hole in me.' For a long time...

What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist

What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist

The real risks for any artist are taken in pushing the work to the limits...

The real risks for any artist are taken in pushing the work to the limits...

Free speech is the whole thing, the whole ball game. Free speech is life itself.

Free speech is the whole thing, the whole ball game. Free speech is life itself.

What one writer can make in the solitude of one room is something no power...

What one writer can make in the solitude of one room is something no power...

If Woody Allen were a Muslim, he'd be dead by now.

If Woody Allen were a Muslim, he'd be dead by now.

In this world without quiet corners, there can be no easy escapes from history, from...

In this world without quiet corners, there can be no easy escapes from history, from...