Isn't there anything you can do about the predator?" Carmody asked. "Nothing. Nor would I if I could. Predation is a necessary circumstance. Even the… - Robert Sheckley

I've never been able to understand that custom." "Not all customs have to have a reason.

But the description is not the described, as Amirra Tauba remarked as he chewed up the map of the galaxy!

We have propounded our beliefs in various ways, and according to various doctrines. Often we have aroused the passions of men to murder and war. This was perfectly proper, since it brought the problems of morality and religion to their highest and most exquisite pitch, and gave many complicated matters for us theologians to talk about.
We argued always, and we published our various dissenting opinions. But we argued like lawyers in a court, and nobody in his right mind listens to a lawyer. Those were the days of our pride, and we never noticed that men had ceased to pay attention to us.