The Old Patagonian Express

She had mistaken egotism for Buddhism.

They're smug views - self-important ones. Egocentric, you might say. The funny thing about being smug and egocentric and thinking about health and purity all the time, is that it can turn you into a fascist. My diet, my bowels, my self - it's the way right-wing people talk. The next thing you know you'll be raving about the purity of the race.'

lower slopes of Parnassus

Travel is a vanishing act, a solitary trip down a pinched line of geography to oblivion.