Oh, but when love is reached through suffering, it has a power it can never gain through innocence.

I lived like a man who wanted to die but who had no courage to do it himself.

When I realized that Reuben was a young man who really wanted to be taken seriously, because he was dismissed for being too good looking or because he had too much money - his character really came to life for me. I began to understand that, and see that a lot of people feel this way - misunderstood because of their talents or gifts or background.

The atheism and nihilism of my earlier years now seems shallow, and even a bit cocky.

Come on, say it again. I'm a perfect devil. Tell me how bad I am. It makes me feel so good!

People who cease to believe in God or goodness altogether still believe in the devil. I don't know why. No, I do indeed know why. Evil is always possible. And goodness is eternally difficult.

as they die, the ones we love, we lose our witnesses, our watchers, those who know and understand the tiny little meaningless patterns, those words drawn in water with a stick. And there is nothing left but the endless flow.