“The tendency to turn human judgements into divine commands turns religion into one of the most dangerous forces in the world.”

“Occasio praeceps, experimentum periculosum, iudicium difficile."..' Opportunity is fleeting, experiment dangerous, and judgement difficult.”

“Je suis à votre commande, seigneur.”

“That evening, rowing on the quiet river as sunset turned to dusk, I saw an occasional smoky smudge on the towpath, always slightly ahead of me, like a dark star guiding me home.”

“I wanted to know how humans came up with a view of the world that had so little magic in it. I needed to understand how they convinced themselves that magic wasn’t important.”

“- “How about flipping a coin;” she made a pretty remark and the two women turned around andlooked at her irritated.- “That's right, go ahead, jock about it. You are not the one trying to change her heart, I am, and youknow damn well how painful that can be!”Sand of Passion”

“As far as I can tell there are only two emotions that keep the world spinning year after year...One is fear. The other is desire.”