How frail, he thought, is the compact that holds our government together! Good will alone is all that sustains it. - Robert Silverberg

Contrast is everything, Ned said. Incongruity is essential. The secret of art lies in attaining a sense of proper juxtapositions, and what is religion if not a category of art?

The more you succeed in making out of yourself, the more bitter a thing it is to have to die.

“This isn’t just consulting work, Haig. It means going into politics.”
“So?”
“What do I need it for?”
“Nobody needs anything except a little food and water now and then. The rest is preferences.”