It was hunted for the sake of its arms and accoutrements from hill to hill, from ravine to ravine, up and down the dried beds of rivers and round the shoulders of bluffs, till it disappeared as water sinks in the sand—this officerless, rebel regiment.

RUDYARD KIPLING, “THE LOST LEGION”

But would you kindly ponder this question. What would your good do if evil didn’t exist, and what would the earth look like if all the shadows disappeared?

MIKHAIL BULGAKOV, THE MASTER AND MARGARITA