He wished he could arrange a maiming as a kind of moral lesson
If pride is a sin ... moral pride is the greatest sin.
Rituals are comforting; rituals combat loneliness.
The more clearly one sees this world; the more one is obliged to pretend it does not exist.
...every study of the gods, of everyone's gods, is a revelation of vengeance towards the innocent.
Don't forget this, too: Rumors aren't interested in the unsensational story; rumors don't care what's true.