Prosper's Demon

by K.J. Parker

Maybe I was different; maybe I’m just a thoroughly bad person, with loads of bad, wicked qualities, such as wanting to bark and liking to bite.

And belief, like love and sleep, is something you can’t do anything about. You can’t make it come if you want it, and you can’t make it go if you don’t.

only two things live forever, the instruments of darkness and works of genius.

You solve half a dozen insuperable difficulties, so why can’t you solve just one more? Because some things are possible, and some aren’t. Simple as that.