Fixed nature
“How come I'm not making pots in Peru? You're born to this shit. You are what you are.” Tony Soprano's answer in Down Neck supplies the doctrine in its shortest form: new scenery does not make a new nature.
Transcript reference ↗Influence record · quotations entered into evidence
The authorities
behind the record.
The sacrifice test
“Those who can't sacrifice anything can't change anything.” The line is Armin Arlert's, not Mikasa's. English translations vary, but the bill does not: change requires the loss of something you wanted to keep.
Line reference ↗What compounds
“From him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.” Matthew 25:29 supplies the arithmetic of compounding: use receives more; neglect loses even its starting ground.
Primary text ↗The prior sorting
“Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.” Romans 9 goes further than unequal outcomes. It names mercy, hardening, the potter's authority over the clay, and vessels made for different ends.
Primary text ↗