O, beware, my lord, of jealousy;It is the Greenway'd monster, which doth mock The meat it feeds on.

— William Shakespeare

Once there were brook trout in the streams in the mountains. You could see them standing in the amber current where the white edges of their fins wimpled softly in the flow. They smelled of moss in your hand. Polished and muscular and torsional. On their backs were vermiculite patterns that were maps of the world in its becoming. Maps and mazes. Of a thing which could not be put back. Not be made right again. In the deep glens where they lived all things were older than man, and they hummed of mystery.

— Cormac McCarthy

On the Day of Judgment, life and death are not determined by the world but by God's wisdom and law

— John Bunyan

On this material plane, each living being is like a street lantern lamp with a dirty lampshade. The inside flame burns evenly and is of the same quality as all the rest—hence all of us are equal in the absolute sense, the essence, in the quality of our energy. However, some of the lamps are “turned down” and having less light in them, burn fainter, (the beings have a less defined individuality, are less in tune with the universal All which is the same as the Will)—hence all of us are unequal in a relative sense, some of us being more aware (human beings), and others being less aware (animal beings), with small wills and small flames. The lampshades of all are stained with the clutter of the material reality or the physical world. As a result, it is difficult for the light of each lamp to shine through to the outside, and it is also difficult to see what is on the other side of the lampshade that represents the external world (a great thick muddy ocean of fog), and hence to “feel” a connection with the other lantern lamps (other beings). The lampshade is the physical body immersed in the ocean of the material world, and the limiting host of senses that it comes with. The dirt of the lampshade results from the cluttering bulk of life experience accumulated without a specific goal or purpose. The dirtier the lampshade, the less connection each soul has to the rest of the universe—and this includes its sense of connection to other beings, its sense of dual presence in the material world and the metaphysical world, and the thin connection line to the wick of fuel or the flow of electricity that resides beyond the material plane and is the universal energy. To remain “lit” each lantern lamp must tap into the universal Source of energy. If the link is weak, depression and-or illness sets in. If the link is strong, life persists. This metaphor to me best illustrates the universe.

— Vera Nazarian

Ô, the wine of a woman from heaven is sent, more perfect than all that a man can invent.

— Roman Payne

Ô, the wine of a woman from heaven is sent, more perfect than all that a man can invent. When she came to my bed and begged me with sigh snot to tempt her towards passion nor actions unwise, I told her I’d spare her and kissed her closed eyes, then unbraided her body of its clothing disguise. While our bodies were nude bathed in candlelight fine devoured her mouth, tender lips divine;and I drank through her thighs her feminine wine. Ô, the wine of a woman from heaven is sent, more perfect than all that a man can invent.

— Roman Payne

The calf is capable of walking quite well now," Daze said. "He never stumbles."" But I told you to carry him back here," the teacher said. "The first thing a soldier must learn is to obey orders." Every day, the calf grew a little heavier, and every day, Daze had to struggle a little harder. He would collapse, exhausted, when he finally got to the ranch, and the calf would bound out of his arms, glad to be able to walk on his own and stretch out. When winter rolled around again, Memo handed him a wooden sword and asked him to strike as hard as he could at the practice dummy. Daze looked with distaste at the crude weapon with no edge, but he swung obediently. The wooden dummy fell in half, cut clean through. He looked at the sword in his hand with wonder." It's not the sword," his teacher said. "Have you looked at yourself lately?" He brought Daze to stand in front of a brightly polished shield. The young man could hardly recognize the reflection. His shoulders filled the frame with the mirror. His arms and thighs were twice as thick as he remembered, and his chest bulged over his narrow waist." A great warrior trusts not his weapons, but himself. When you possess true strength, you can deal a killing blow even if all you have is a blade of grass." Now you're finally ready to learn from me. But first, go thank the calf for making you strong.

— Ken Liu

The reason creatures wanted to use language instead of mental telepathy was that they found out they could get so much more done with language. Language made them so much more active. Mental telepathy, with everybody constantly telling everybody everything, produced a sort of generalized indifference to all information. But language, with its slow, narrow meanings, made it possible to think about one thing at a time -- to start thinking in terms of projects.

— Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

There is no force in Earth or Heaven above, No, not even the damned of Hell can stop relentless Love. ---Kari, The Valkyrie, Chapter Sixteen, Valley of the Damned Epic Martial Poem/Allegory

— Douglas M. Laurent

There is no force in Earth or Heaven above, No, not even the damned of Hell can stop relentless Love. ---Kari, The Valkyrie, Chapter Sixteen, Valley of the Damned Epic Martial Poem/Allegory

— Douglas M. Laurent