God does not play dice with the universe; He plays an ineffable game of His own devising, which might be compared, from the perspective of any of the other players [i.e. everybody], to being involved in an obscure and complex variant of poker in a pitch-dark room, with blank cards, for infinite stakes, with a Dealer who won’t tell you the rules, and who smiles all the time.
Edith Sitwell
-
"The aim of flattery is to soothe and encourage us by assuring us of the
truth of an opinion we have already formed about ourselves."
19 hours ago