A passenger isn't supposed to concern himself with the running of the ship; that is being taken care of by the crew, anonymous creatures down in the … - Christopher Isherwood

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A passenger isn't supposed to concern himself with the running of the ship; that is being taken care of by the crew, anonymous creatures down in the engine-room or up on deck, whom he never meets. But, in this case, I wasn't really a passenger. I was like a lazy or scared or drunken captain lying shut in his cabin when he ought to be on the bridge, giving orders. Sooner or later, I would have to come out and assume command and decide where we were going.

But not yet, I told the crew. You don't need me yet. Can't you see I'm sick? You're doing all right without me. Sure, I'll come, when we get near land. Just let me lie here a little longer. Leave me alone, can't you? Let me sleep.

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About Christopher Isherwood

Christopher William Bradshaw Isherwood (26 August 1904 – 4 January 1986) was a British-American writer.

Biography information from Wikiquote

Also Known As

Alternative Names: Christopher William Bradshaw Isherwood
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Additional quotes by Christopher Isherwood

I am a camera, with its shutter open. Someday, all of this will be developed, printed, fixed.

What’s so phony nowadays is all this familiarity. Pretending there isn’t any difference between people — well, like you were saying about minorities, this morning. If you and I are no different, what do we have to give each other? How can we ever be friends?

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And now an hour, maybe, has passed. And they are both drunk: Kenny fairly, George very. But George is drunk in a good way, and one that he seldom achieves. He tries to describe to himself what this kind of drunkenness is like. Well - to put it very crudely - it's like Plato; it's a dialogue. A dialogue between two people. Yes, but not a Platonic dialogue in the hair-splitting, word-twisting, one-up-to-me sense; not a mock-humble bitching match; not a debate on some dreary set theme. You can talk about anything and change the subject as often as you like. In fact, what really matters is not what you talk about, but the being together in this particular relationship.

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