We all think that fate has dealt us a wretched sort of lot in life, and that others must be better. [...] I presume that in the heaven of the Blessèd there are those who believe that the advantages of that locale are much exaggerated by theologists, who have never been there themselves.

"The Duel", in Brodie's Report (1970); tr. Andrew Hurley, Collected Fictions (1998)