Charles Dickens (7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870)

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way…”
—Opening paragraph of “A Tale of Two Cities”

“Zamanların en iyisiydi, en kötüsüydü zamanların; bilgelik çağıydı ve aptallık; inanç dönemiydi, kuşku dönemiydi; Işık’ın mevsimiydi ve Karanlık’ın; umudun ilkbaharıydı, umutsuzluk kışıydı; önümüzde her şey vardı, hiç bir şey yoktu önümüzde; cennete gidiyorduk hepimiz ve tam tersi yöne…”
—”İki Şehrin Hikâyesi”nin açılış paragrafı