A silly game

After God had created the world and all the animals, he decided to play a silly game with himself: could he create a being who would give in to temptation despite being warned against it and whom he would then have every justification in punishing? He can’t have been all that surprised when he succeeded. If, instead, he had stuck his teddy-bear’s head in a honeypot and then thrashed it for its infraction, he would have got the same satisfaction, and this world would not be such a vale of tears.

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Dust

At what point do you know that there is too much dust in your home and that some of it should be removed? What impels you to assemble the parts of a vacuum cleaner and suck up all but invisible particles from the floor? You should ask yourself whether it might not be a better use of your time to count the flecks in the windowpane or stick the crumbs back on the biscuits.

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We live our lives like spiders inside a bath

We live our lives like spiders inside a bath, crawling up and sliding down, crawling up and sliding down. We also spend our lives like cactuses on a windowsill, recalling the day we bloomed so long ago. These lives of ours are lived as gloves are worn, some fitting snugly, some fitting ill, some with holes in. At times we lead our lives as we would lead a donkey, forcing it to go where it doesn't want to; at other times we follow our lives as we would follow a trail in the forest, searching for some non-existent treasure. Our lives are similar to carpets, for the more they are unfurled, the more they show the same pattern.

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Useful sayings

Useful sayings:

It's no use rejoicing over unspilt milk.
Always throw stones at glasshouses from the outside.
Respect the thistle and save the trouser.
Disprove the pudding by not eating it.

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