"Die or live and be great"
There's a great passage in Alfred Bester's The Stars My Destination where a character rants at the masses in his gutter dialect. It's one of my favourites in the book.
'You pigs, you. You rut like pigs, is all. You got the most in you, and you use the least. You hear me, you? Got a million in you and spend pennies. Got a genius in you and think crazies. Got a heart in you and feel empties. All a you. Every you...'
He was jeered. He continued with the hysterical passion of the possessed.
'Take a war to make you spend. Take a jam to make you think. Take a challenge to make you great. Rest of the time you sit around lazy, you. Pigs, you! All right, God damn you! I challenge you, me. Die or live and be great.'
