A Quote

[forsyth]

Death: Humans need fantasy to *be* human. To be the place where the falling angel meets the rising ape.
Susan: With tooth fairies? Hogfathers?
Death: Yes. As practice, you have to start out learning to believe the little lies.
Susan: So we can believe the big ones?
Death: Yes. Justice, mercy, duty. That sort of thing.
Susan: They're not the same at all.
Death: You think so? Then take the universe and grind it down to the finest powder, and sieve it through the finest sieve, and then show me one atom of justice, one molecule of mercy. And yet, you try to act as if there is some ideal order in the world. As if there is some, some rightness in the universe, by which it may be judged.
Susan: But people have got to believe that, or what's the point?
Death: You need to believe in things that aren't true. How else can they become?

Comments

[amazingadrian.livejournal.com]

What book is this from?

[forsythferret.livejournal.com]

Hogfather, by Terry Pratchett. It's one of the Discworld books, in which some one attempts to kill the Discworld equivalent of Santa Claus, and hilarity and philosophy ensue. Which is a really bad review, but I'm not sure how else to put it without spoilers.

[dezro.livejournal.com]

You're doing it wrong and it's bugging me more than it should. :/

[forsythferret.livejournal.com]

Heh. I didn't know there was an HTML setting for small caps like that. I'll go back and edit it at some point soon.