More quotes by Jostein Gaarder, Sophie's World

"A hydrogen atom in a cell at the end of my nose was once part of an elephant's trunk. A carbon atom in my cardiac muscle was once in the tail of a dinosaur."
"But understanding will always require some effort. You probably wouldn't admire a friend who was good at everything if it cost her no effort."
"The rearing of children is considered too important to be left to the individual and should be the responsibility of the state."
"He could very likely have appealed for leniency. At least he could have saved his life by agreeing to leave Athens. But had he done this he would not have been Socrates. He valued his conscience--and the truth-- higher than life."
"When we sense something, it is due to the movement of atoms in space. When I see the moon it is because "moon atoms"penetrate my eye."