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Humans are not to be trusted.
the end of one crisis is only the beginning of the next.
There is nothing obvious about the picture of the world we have obtained using the scientific method. Molecules, quarks, atoms, billions of stars and galaxies, meat that knows it’s sentient—what is this madness? And, of course, one might ask: is the scientific model of reality not just another kind of magic, another absurd, fanciful delusion? The answer is: yes. However, it also happens to be the only delusion that doesn’t go away when one stops believing in it.
“Those are the public baths. And that’s the bank. And that’s the cat pit.” “What’s a cat pit?” Leo said. They approached. Many cats were in a pit. Most were asleep, but some were mating or fighting. “Best entertainment in town. Spend whole afternoons here I do sometimes, your holiness,”
For the first time in his life Leo knew what it was to want another drink.
It seemed to him suddenly that self-hate was the result of a misguided attempt to please people one would never meet, and if one did meet such judgemental idiots, one would not respect them nor desire their respect in the first place.
I’ll have them fed to the dogs. I’ll have the dogs gutted and fed to the rats. I’ll have the rats—”
living as a miraculous animal and feeling nothing; living as a king here perhaps, and feeling nothing. I was ugly before, but loved. Now I’m just ugly.
Never buy cheap socks. Dance when you can. You’ll know when you’re in love. If you have to check, you’re not.
Many will claim they know nothing. Do not believe them; how could they know that?
There was no point resisting the pull of parenthood.
Had life grown harsher, or had he only grown more sensitive to life’s harshnesses?
Be kind, and when you can’t be kind, be fair. And when you can’t be fair, be clever. And when you can’t be clever, please be kind again.
“Religion is the lifeblood of all things. And when you too have read the scriptures thoroughly and joined our cause, you will understand what children you are.”
