To appreciate freedom, one must have known constraint. And we all have known constraints. It’s only a matter of degree as to how heavy they are and who imposes them. There are the shackles I place on myself, and there are others that I permit to be attached by society, friends, and obligations. Much of the load I carry is born of an overinflated sense of responsibility. There’s a sense, born largely in fear, that I must do these things—that if I stop, my world would crumble. And it might well...

I was raised to believe desire was a sin, and then I met Leah. Leah was brilliant and the most indelicate of women, the kind that is quite capable of causing pain and knows how. I never felt it as malicious so much as borne of hidden despair, all the worse for her having grown accustomed to it. I never figured out if she realized what she was doing or she was merely acting out an unconscious pattern. It didn't matter; I was in love with her. I was in my thirties and still carried my Catholic...

“What is the reward for knowing the worst?” — Donald Barthelme ________________________________________ In Turin, on January 3rd, 1889, Friedrich Nietzsche stepped out the door of Number 6, Via Carlo Alberto, perhaps to take a stroll, perhaps to collect his mail. Nearby, a cabman struggled with a stubborn horse. Despite repeated urging, the animal refused to move. The cabman lost his patience and took his whip to it. Nietzsche, solidly built, full-mustached, approached and ended the...