Mavin shook her head, but withheld any judgment. If there was anything she had learned in long travels here… — Sheri S. Tepper

There is a kind of animal frenzy can be whipped up sometimes among fools and children, often using religion as an excuse for it. When it happens, it is wise to be elsewhere.

I’ll tell you, nothing is so dangerous as ambition in a man who cares not who stands in his way.

“Oh, but I am soiled beyond all cleansing.…”

“Nonsense,” said Mavin impatiently. “You are silly beyond all belief, but that is your sole sin I am aware of, young man.”