For the love of the trick

Something must always remain that eludes us... for power to have an object on which to be exercised, a space in which to stretch out its arms... As long as I know there exists in the world someone who does tricks only for the love of the trick, as long as I know there is a woman who loves reading for reading's sake, I can convince myself that the world continues..."

Italo Calvino, If on a Winter's Night a Traveller (Vintage Books, 1998) p. 240