it was a sly trick of God's to give a man work to do - it kept him from asking questions that God couldn't answer.

But one had to go back to the beginning of things, always. Trace the thread of life - find the knot - untangle it.

You have stirred the soil with your plow, my friend. It will never be the same again.

a man can break God's laws and be forgiven. That's what they teach us. But when he breaks Nature's laws, there's no forgiveness - and there's no escape. Sooner or later he pays the penalty, or his children pay it - or his children's children. It doesn't matter much. It must be paid.

The past ... is a dim avenue down which we may walk and find the diverging paths of terror and beauty and passion.

it was a sly trick of God's to give a man work to do - it kept him from asking questions that God couldn't answer.

By mid-morning a rain as fine as silk spills was weaving over the lake.