William S. Burroughs Quotes

After a shooting spree, they always want to take the guns away from the people who didn't do it. I sure as hell wouldn't want to live in a society where the only people allowed guns are the police and the military.
William S. Burroughs

Society, Live, After

Your mind will answer most questions if you learn to relax and wait for the answer.
William S. Burroughs

Learning, Mind, Wait

Desperation is the raw material of drastic change. Only those who can leave behind everything they have ever believed in can hope to escape.
William S. Burroughs

Change, Hope, Everything

Artists to my mind are the real architects of change, and not the political legislators who implement change after the fact.
William S. Burroughs

Change, Mind, Political

After one look at this planet any visitor from outer space would say 'I want to see the manager.'
William S. Burroughs

After, Space, Manager

How I hate those who are dedicated to producing conformity.
William S. Burroughs

Hate, Conformity, Dedicated

Most of the trouble in this world has been caused by folks who can't mind their own business, because they have no business of their own to mind, any more than a smallpox virus has.
William S. Burroughs

Business, Mind, Trouble

A paranoid is someone who knows a little of what's going on.
William S. Burroughs

Someone, Knows, Paranoid

Happiness is a byproduct of function, purpose, and conflict; those who seek happiness for itself seek victory without war.
William S. Burroughs

Happiness, War, Victory

Our national drug is alcohol. We tend to regard the use any other drug with special horror.
William S. Burroughs

Special, Alcohol, National

Silence is only frightening to people who are compulsively verbalizing.
William S. Burroughs

In deep sadness there is no place for sentimentality.
William S. Burroughs

Sad, Sadness, Deep

Every man has inside himself a parasitic being who is acting not at all to his advantage.
William S. Burroughs

Acting, Himself, Inside

Language is a virus from outer space.
William S. Burroughs

Language, Space, Virus

A cat's rage is beautiful, burning with pure cat flame, all its hair standing up and crackling blue sparks, eyes blazing and sputtering.
William S. Burroughs

Beautiful, Eyes, Hair

Admittedly, a homosexual can be conditioned to react sexually to a woman, or to an old boot for that matter. In fact, both homo - and heterosexual experimental subjects have been conditioned to react sexually to an old boot, and you can save a lot of money that way.
William S. Burroughs

Money, Woman, Old

A functioning police state needs no police.
William S. Burroughs

State, Police, Needs

In my writing I am acting as a map maker, an explorer of psychic areas, a cosmonaut of inner space, and I see no point in exploring areas that have already been thoroughly surveyed.
William S. Burroughs

Writing, Acting, Point

There couldn't be a society of people who didn't dream. They'd be dead in two weeks.
William S. Burroughs

Society, Two, Dream

Sometimes paranoia's just having all the facts.
William S. Burroughs

Sometimes, Facts, Paranoia

I am getting so far out one day I won't come back at all.
William S. Burroughs

Far, Getting, Won

Man is an artifact designed for space travel. He is not designed to remain in his present biologic state any more than a tadpole is designed to remain a tadpole.
William S. Burroughs

Travel, State, Present

Nothing is true, everything is permitted.
William S. Burroughs

True, Nothing, Everything

Anything that can be done chemically can be done by other means.
William S. Burroughs

The face of evil is always the face of total need.
William S. Burroughs

Evil, Face, Total

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Biography

Nationality: American

Type: Writer

Born: February 5, 1914

Died: August 2, 1997

Links

Find on Amazon: William S. Burroughs

Cite this Page: Citation

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