“He lost himself in a maze of thoughts that were rendered vague by his lack of words to express them. Frowning, he tried again.”

“He became absorbed beyond mere happiness as he felt himself exercising control over living things. He talked to them, urging them, ordering them. Driven back by the tide, his footprints became bays in which they were trapped and gave him the illusion of mastery.”

“He wanted to explain how people were never quite what you thought they were.”

“Simon became inarticulate in his effort to express mankind's essential illness.”

“Lok was running as fast as he could. His head was down and he carried his thorn bush horizontally for balance and smacked the drifts of vivid buds aside with his free hand.”

“He found himself understanding the wearisomeness of this life, where every path was an improvisation and a considerable part of one's waking life was spent watching one's feet.”

“Ralph... would treat the day's decisions as though he were playing chess. The only trouble was that he would never be a very good chess player.”