“
‘Tis difficult, if not impossible, for these Astronomers to get down to a Chat upon the Topick of Desire, given Dixon’s inability to deny or divert the Gusts that sweep him, and Mason’s frequent failure, in his Melancholy, even to recognize Desire, let alone to act upon it, tho’ it run up calling Ahoy Charlie. “How could you begin to understand?” Mason sighs. “You’ve no concept of Temptation. You come ashore here looking for occasions to transgress. Some of us have more Backbone, I suppose…”
“A bodily Part too often undistinguish’d,” Dixon replies, “from a Ram-Rod up the Arse.”
— Thomas Pynchon, Mason & Dixon
