William S. Burroughs – 14 Quotes

14 Quotes by William S. Burroughs

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

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

– William S. Burroughs

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

The way to kill a man or a nation is to cut off his dreams, the way the whites are taking care of the Indians: killing their dreams, their magic, their familiar spirits.

– William S. Burroughs

The aim of education is the knowledge, not of facts, but of values.

– William S. Burroughs

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

– William S. Burroughs

Your knowledge of what is going on can only be superficial and relative.

– William S. Burroughs

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

– William S. Burroughs

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

Like all pure creatures, cats are practical.

– William S. Burroughs

In deep sadness there is no place for sentimentality.

– William S. Burroughs

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

There couldn’t be a society of people who didn’t dream. They’d be dead in two weeks.

– William S. Burroughs

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