The flat contradiction brought a smile to the young man's lips as they trudged onward.
"A good many people say so."
"A good many people say foolish things. It's hard to know what's right chiefly when you're not in a hurry to do it."
"Aren't there exceptions to that rule?"
"I allowed for the exceptions. I said chiefly."
"But when you do want to do it?"
"You'll know what it is. There'll be something to tell you."
"And this something to tell you? What do you call it?"
"Some call it conscience. Some call it God. Some call it neither."
Davenant reflected again.