That Devil, Accusation

“This spirit of accusation, this devil, has a good cop/bad cop routine. The indulgent cop, the one who seems so nice, invites you to smoke this, sleep with her, take that , strive for the other, and to help yourself to this, which was just sitting there. We chase after honors, orgasms, riches, and all their accoutrements. The world is filled with shiny baubles, and we are positively enticed to fondle them all. Having done so, like so many monkeys offered some free nuts, we hear the shutter click of all the hidden cameras, and that information about what we have done goes into our file.”

All the Condemnation in the World, p. 5