The Chrysalids - Chapters 1 - 7 by Veronica Barton

'I shall pray God to send charity into this hideous world, and sympathy for the weak, and love for the unhappy and unfortunate. I shall ask Him if it is indeed His will that a child should suffer and its soul be damned for a little blemish of the body.... And I shall pray Him, too, that the hearts of the self-righteous may be broken....'

vbarton6 — 2023-11-07 18:36:31 UTC

2023-11-07 18:40:36 UTC

“And God created man in His own image. And God decreed that man should have one body, one head, two arms and two legs: that each arm should be jointed in two places and end in one hand: that each hand should have four fingers and one thumb: that each finger should bear a flat finger-nail.”

2023-11-07 18:41:03 UTC

“And any creature that shall seem to be human, but is not formed thus is not human. It is neither man nor woman. It is a blasphemy against the true Image of God, and hateful in the sight of God.

2023-11-07 18:41:33 UTC

“Dreams were funny things and there was no accounting for them; so it might be that what I was seeing was a bit of the world as it had been once upon a time—the wonderful world that the Old People had lived in; as it had been before God sent Tribulation.”

2023-11-07 18:41:49 UTC

"ONLY THE IMAGE OF GOD IS MAN, KEEP PURE THE STOCK OF THE LORD, BLESSED IS THE NORM, IN PURITY OUR SALVATION, WATCH THOU FOR THE MUTANT!"

The commandments and precepts one learns as a child can be remembered by rote, but they mean little until there is example--and, even then, the example needs to be recognized.

vbarton5 — 2023-11-07 18:42:44 UTC

2023-11-07 18:43:55 UTC

"I know, I know. I'll tell you all about it. But there's one thing more; a big thing. You must never tell anyone else about it as long as you live. There would be great trouble if it were known, even now. You understand that?"

“The essential quality of life is living; the essential quality of living is change; change is evolution; and we are part of it.” 1

2023-11-07 18:44:59 UTC

aayushi

2023-11-07 18:46:06 UTC

It is the shape of a person that matters, and the time and place. The essence of the true image is a concentration of the soul, if you will.

'My Uncle Axel says the Old People must have had much better engines than this,' I told her.

vbarton5 — 2023-11-07 18:47:00 UTC

2023-11-07 18:49:35 UTC

But, in a sense, that was what the Old People had expected, for in the time when I was young, the great trouble was the ‘fringes,’ the land outside the enclosure, which had been damaged by some great ‘Tribulation’ of the Old People, long ago. But within the enclosure, the Old People had created a world that was completely secure

sanaya

2023-11-07 18:51:52 UTC

'I shall pray God to send charity into this hideous world, and sympathy for the weak, and love for the unhappy and unfortunate. I shall ask Him if it is indeed His will that a child should suffer and its soul be damned for a little blemish of the body. . . . And I shall pray Him, too, that the hearts of the self-righteous may be broken....'

Avantika

2023-11-07 18:53:23 UTC

"Clearly there must be a mistake somewhere. Surely having one very small toe extra—well, two very small toes, because I supposed there would be one to match on the other foot—surely that couldn't be enough to make her 'hateful in the sight of God . . .'?"

aayushi

2023-11-07 18:53:41 UTC

When she came—when I saw her, I wanted to kill myself. I knew they would never approve her, although it's such a little thing. But I didn't, because I thought perhaps I could save her somehow. I love her. She's a lovely baby—except for that. She is, isn't she?

2023-11-07 18:54:11 UTC

"ONLY THE IMAGE OF GOD IS MAN, KEEP PURE THE STOCK OF THE LORD, BLESSED IS THE NORM, IN PURITY OUR SALVATION, WATCH THOU FOR THE MUTANT!"

aayushi

2023-11-07 18:54:44 UTC

This is the third time. They'll take my baby away again like they took the others. I can't stand that —not again. Henry will turn me out, I think. He'll find another wife, who can give him proper children. There'll be nothing—nothing in the world for me—nothing. I came here hoping against hope for sympathy and help. Emily is the only person who can help me. I—I can see now how foolish I was to hope at all . . .'

2023-11-07 18:55:20 UTC

Not until I had reached the bank and was making my homeward way along the top of it did the monotonous Sunday precepts join up with reality. Then they did it with a click that was almost audible. The Definition of Man recited itself in my head

Avantika

2023-11-07 18:56:17 UTC

"Then it had been a little hairless calf that stood waiting, blinking stupidly at the knife in my father's hand; this time it was a little girl, Sophie, standing barefooted and trying uselessly to hide the whole long row of toes that everyone could see on each foot. We all stood looking at her, and waiting. Presently she started to run from one person to another, imploring them to help her, but none of them moved, and none of their faces had any expression."

2023-11-07 18:57:28 UTC

"The essence of perfection is knowing you are imperfect."

2023-11-07 18:57:34 UTC

"I know, I know I'll tell you all about it. But there's one thing more; a big thing. You must never tell anyone else about it as long as you live. There would be great trouble if it were known, even now. you understand that?"

2023-11-07 18:59:08 UTC

"It was a thought, and a thought was a luxury which, when indulged, led to an action. And actions demanded paying for."

2023-11-07 19:00:26 UTC

"The essence of fair dealing is to give that which is due. There can be no other, nor can there ever be."

Avantika

2023-11-07 19:01:29 UTC

"It was this long line of tongues that had given us the name Labrador, for it was unmentioned in either the Bible or Repentances, and they may have been right about the cold, although there were only two cold months in the year now—Tribulation could account for that, it could account for almost anything...."

2023-11-07 19:05:30 UTC

"Without change, there is no progress."

"The best is oftentimes the enemy of the good.

2023-11-07 19:05:50 UTC

"The essential quality of life is living; the essential quality of living is change; change is evolution: and we are part of it."

2023-11-07 19:06:02 UTC