“When a conscious being appeared, the world went blank.”

“When an inner situation is not made conscious it appears outside as fate.”

“Life before consciousness was like blank paper, so be it.”

“The remainder of the afternoon went by in the gentle gloom that descends when relatives appear . . .”

“When I say that consciousness is an illusion I do not mean that consciousness does not exist. I mean that consciousness is not what it appears to be. If it seems to be a continuous stream of rich and detailed experiences, happening one after the other to a conscious person, this is the illusion.”

“These men were conscious of the Fall, if they were conscious of nothing else; and the same is true of all heathen humanity. Those who have fallen may remember the fall, even when they forget the height. Some such tantalising blank or break in memory is at the back of all pagan sentiment.”