Never Forget That Only Dead Fish Swim

It Is Only Possible To Succeed At Second-rate Pursuits - Like Becoming A Millionaire Or A Prime Minister, Winning A War, Seducing Beautiful Women, Flying Through The Stratosphere, Or Landing On The Moon. First-rate Pursuits - Involving, As They Must, Trying To Understand What Life Is About And Trying To Convey That Understanding - Inevitably Result In A Sense Of Failure. A Napoleon, A Churchill, Or A Roosevelt Can Feel Himself To Be Successful, But Never A Socrates, A Pascal, Or A Blake. Understanding Is Forever Unattainable.

Whatever Is Fine And Permanent In Human Achievement Has Been Realised Through Individuals Courageously Facing The Circumstances Of Their Being; And A Society Is Civilised To The Extent To Which It Makes This Possible. Terrorism, Which Aims At Putting Out Thespiritual Light, Is The Antithesis Of Civilisation.

In His Own Lifetime Jesus Made No Impact On History. This Is Something That I Cannot But Regard As A Special Dispensation On God's Part, And, I Like To Think, Yet Another Example Of The Ironical Humour Which Informs So Many Of His Purposes. To Me, It Seems Highly Appropriate That The Most Important Figure In All History Should Thus Escape The Notice Of Memoirists, Diarists, Commentators, All The Tribe Of Chroniclers Who Even Then Existed

In The Beginning Was The Lie And The Lie Was Made News And Dwelt Among Us, Graceless And False.

The Truth Is That A Lost Empire, Lost Power And Lost Wealth Provide Perfect Circumstances For Living Happily And Contentedly In Our Enchanted Island.