"What is evil? I have seen evil, its cruelty, the randomness which it ravages innocent
and guilty alike. I have not understood it. I asked the Parliament of
Trees whose knowledge is older, greater than mine. They seemed to insist
that there was no evil. But I have seen evil and their answer was
incomprehensible to me. And yet…and yet, they spoke of aphids eating
leaves, bugs eating aphids, themselves finally devoured by the soil,
feeding the foliage. They asked where evil dwelled within this cycle and
told me to look to the soil. The black soil is rich in foul decay yet
glorious life springs from it. But however dazzling the flourishes of
life, in the end, all decays to the same black humus. Perhaps…perhaps
evil is the humus formed by virtue’s decay. And perhaps…perhaps it is
from that dark, sinister loam that virtue grows strongest?"
"The last truth is that there is no magic.”
"Tell me what 'there is no magic' means"
"Juggling is a trick. It is not magic. But if you don’t know how to do it, it looks like magic. That is why people toss coins to jugglers at the fair. When you can do it with one hand, you’ve learned something. And when you can do it without using your hands, you’ll understand."
and guilty alike. I have not understood it. I asked the Parliament of
Trees whose knowledge is older, greater than mine. They seemed to insist
that there was no evil. But I have seen evil and their answer was
incomprehensible to me. And yet…and yet, they spoke of aphids eating
leaves, bugs eating aphids, themselves finally devoured by the soil,
feeding the foliage. They asked where evil dwelled within this cycle and
told me to look to the soil. The black soil is rich in foul decay yet
glorious life springs from it. But however dazzling the flourishes of
life, in the end, all decays to the same black humus. Perhaps…perhaps
evil is the humus formed by virtue’s decay. And perhaps…perhaps it is
from that dark, sinister loam that virtue grows strongest?"
"The last truth is that there is no magic.”
"Tell me what 'there is no magic' means"
"Juggling is a trick. It is not magic. But if you don’t know how to do it, it looks like magic. That is why people toss coins to jugglers at the fair. When you can do it with one hand, you’ve learned something. And when you can do it without using your hands, you’ll understand."