He wanted this someone to see how much he hurt.

Popularity has become its own justification.

Here was a torture that Greek inventors of the Feast and the Stone had omitted from their Hades: the Blanket of Self-Deception. A lovely warm blanket as far as it covered the soul in torment, but it never quite covered everything.

Birds were like dinosaurs' better selves. They had short lives and long summers. We all should be so lucky as to leave behind such heirs.

Brooklyn was like Philadelphia made better by its proximity to Manhattan.

[T]o love a specific person, and to identify with his or her struggles and joys as if they were your own, you have to surrender some of your self.

Integrity's a neutral value. Hyenas have integrity, too. They're pure hyena.