“It was the power of the government over the freedom of its subjects. To think of it in the abstract made it seem so theoretical and academic, but to feel it—to see the looks on their faces—as they stare back at you, courier and conduit of the Power—Arthur Rivera, Jimmy Dollard, Herbert 92X, and the guy called Pimp—even them—and now to see that little swallow of fright in a perfect neck worth millions—well, the poet has never sung of that ecstasy or even dreamed of it, and no prosecutor, no judge, no cop, no income-tax auditor will ever enlighten him, for we dare not even mention it to one another, do we?—and yet we feel it and we know it every time they look at us with those eyes that beg for mercy or, if not mercy, Lord, dumb luck or capricious generosity. (Just one break!) What are all the limestone façades of Fifth Avenue and all the marble halls and stuffed-leather libraries and all the riches of Wall Street in the face of my control of your destiny and your helplessness in the face of the Power? Wolfe, Tom. The Bonfire of the Vanities: A Novel (Kindle Locations 10364-10372). Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Kindle Edition. Wolfe, Tom. The Bonfire of the Vanities: A Novel (Kindle Locations 10363-10364). Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Kindle Edition. ”
