"Isn't it obvious?" he answered. "No. It is so far from obvious that it has gone right through obscure, breezed past unfathomable and is now complete… - Matt Hughes

"The likelihood seems farfetched."
"So have several of the situations in which we have found ourselves in the recent past," I said.
"But you are resolved to avoid those kinds of situations in the future."
I made a gesture ripe with fatalism. "I have come to understand that the universe accords my resolutions a good deal less consideration than I would prefer."

"Knowledge can be a hindrance to right action," answered the little man. "There are those who hold that, if we but knew the full ramifications of even our least deeds, the ensuing concatenations of cause and effect would paralyze us with indecision."

The commerciants of Olkney were renowned for their egalitarian spirit, judging rich and poor alike solely by the weight of their purses.