The judge smiled. Men are born for games. Nothing else. Every child knows that play is nobler than work. He knows too that the worth or merit of a game is not inherent in the game itself but rather in the value of that which is put at hazard. Games of chance require a wager to have meaning at all. Games of sport involve the skill and strength of the opponents and humiliation of defeat and the pride of victory are in themselves sufficient stake because they inhere in the worth of the principals and define them. But trial of chance or trial of worth all games aspire to the condition of war for here that which is wagered swallows up game, player, all.
- the judge, Blood Meridian
Quid: You see that pack of Virginia killing sticks on the end of the piano?
Pete: Yes.
Quid: All you need to know about life is retained in those four walls.
You will notice that one of your personalities is seduced by the illusions of grandeur - the gold packet of king size with a regal insignia, an attractive implication towards grandeur and wealth, the subtle suggestion that cigarettes are indeed your royal and loyal friends, and that, Pete, is a lie.
Your other personality is trying to draw your attention to the flip side of the discussion, written in boring bold black and white, it's a statement that these neat little soldiers of death are in fact trying to kill you and that, Pete, is the truth.
Oh, beauty is a beguiling call to death and i'm addicted to the sweet pitch of its siren.
That that starts sweet ends bitter, and that which starts bitter ends sweet.
That is why you and I love the drugs and that is also why I cannot give that painting back. now please, pass me a light.
Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, and one by one.
- Charles Mackay, Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds