We have not yet encountered any god who is as merciful as a man who flicks a beetle over on its feet.
Annie DillardEvery spring he vowed to quit teaching school, and every summer he missed his pupils and searched for them on the streets.
Annie DillardI woke at intervals until . . . the intervals of waking tipped the scales, and I was more often awake than not.
Annie DillardWhat have we been doing all these centuries but trying to call God back to the mountain, or, failing that, raise a peep out of anything that isn't us? What is the difference between a cathedral and a physics lab? Are not they both saying: Hello? We spy on whales and on interstellar radio objects; we starve ourselves and pray till we're blue.
Annie Dillard