A notable passage from The Asiatics by Frederic Prokosch

"He lay back again and wiped his face with the napkin. 'This is what I think,' he continued. His voice now rose flutteringly from his throat; it sounded uncertain and hoarse. 'This is what I think: we're all lonely little souls, we've all got to work out our own salvation. We've got to arrange ourselves somehow so that life won't seem too terrifying. Isn't that so? Don't you agree? We've got to build up little ideas, pathetic visions about God and immortality and so on, behind which we can pretend to hide. We've got to close our eyes to the big thunderstorm that goes on all around us. We've got to, if we're ever going to be peaceful and contented. We've got to pretend that life has a point for each and every one of us, that there's a point to each of our little hearts beating like tom-toms in the midst of this endless black jungle.'"