Politics as First Rate Theater

Laura decided there was an amazing similarity between a political rally, the circus, and a camp meeting.  From the stump and the pulpit and the center ring came the promise of holy crusades in which the meek would inherit the earth.  "It's wonderful," Laura said to Mr. Wright.  "I love it. It's all so familiar.  Like Ive been here before."

"First rate theater, " the editor said.  "It would be second-rate except it's so human.

Hill Country
Janice Woods Windle

Straining Bones

Sometimes I can feel my bones straining under the weight of all the lives I'm not living.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Jonathan Safran Foer

Wisdom or Cowardice

Thin-lipped Wisdom spoke at her from the worn chair, hinted at prudence, quoted from that book of cowardice whose author apes the name of common sense.

The Picture of Dorian Gray
Oscar Wilde