Essays, thoughts, poems, prayers and quotes:
Mervyn Peake's novel Mr Pye is a wonderful fable on the perils of do-goodery. Bringing boundless wisdom and benevolence to the island of Sark he ends up, much to his own disgust, turning into a winged angel.What is at…
A diversification among human communities is essential for the provision of the incentive and material for the Odyssey of the human spirit. Other nations of different habits are not enemies: they are godsends. Men…
[each individual] stands at all times in the need of the co-operation and assistance of great multitudes, while his whole life is scarce sufficient to gain the friendship of a few persons... ...It is not from the…
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That…
Just as the stability of the totalitarian regime depends on sealing off the fictitious world of the movement from the outside world, so the experiment of total domination in the concentration camps depends upon…
Science in that sense moderates potential Hitlers [they need the scientists for their own victories and so must take care of them] - but only in that sense. In general it increases man’s power without increasing…
In the pursuit of justice, positional illusions can impose serious barriers that have to be overcome through broadening the informational basis of evaluations, which is one of the reasons why Adam Smith demanded…
When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for…
Above all, I think the idea of citizenship should remain at the centre of modern political debates about social and economic arrangements. The concept of a citizen is that of a person who can hold [their] head high and…
Nevertheless the soul can be just as thoroughly ruined by excessive poverty as by excessive wealth; both wound with equal severity, for wealth and beggary are two extremes. The mean is called sufficiency, and that…
In fourth-century Babylon, a man came to Rabbi Rava and said: “The governor of my town has ordered me to murder someone [who is innocent], and has warned me that if I do not do so he will have me killed. [Can I murder the…
Once, in an ancient kingdom, there lived a fine and handsome and intelligent prince. But one day he got it into his head that he was a rooster. At first the king believed this was simply a passing thought, a phase his son…
Three officials were assigned to guard the king’s treasures. They proved to be corrupt, and dividing the valuables, ran away. One thought better of it, and returned of his own accord. The second was persuaded by a…
"Because are human, we are going to mess up, we are going to make errors and omissions – so we are asking for your forgiveness in advance…"My thanks Nan Carle for sharing this with me. It needs no commentary.
The modern doctor evokes respect and awe, mixed with some fear and suspicion. At the most basic level a power relationship starts to exist as soon as we feel that another person holds in their hands an important key to…
The following lessons are shared by experts in inclusive education - committed to ensuring that disabled children play a full part in classrooms, schools and the whole educational experience.Teach people to get…
One of the most frightening things we do as human beings is to hurt ourselves with fictional entities. One of these fictional entities is 'the economy'.We tell ourselves that we must not lose the economic race…
There were six men of Hindustan,to learning much inclined,Who went to see an elephant,though all of them were blind,That each by observationmight satisfy his mind.The first approached the elephant,and…
Churchill observed "America will always do the right thing... but only after exhausting all other possibilities." He could have deduced this from Katz's Law which is that "Men and nations will act…
The Fabian writer Beatrice Webb said "We have little faith in the 'average sensual man', we do not believe that he can do more than describe his grievances, we do not think he can prescribe the remedies."And it is true…
Imagine a man who washes up on a desert island. He has all he needs, but then new people arrive on what he thinks of as ‘his island’. We can identify at least 4 different kinds of cases that each demand a different…
When we demand equality we are rightly demanding recognition of our fundamental equality - our essential human dignity or worth. And naturally we often want this deep equality to be reflected in our social and…
Generosity can make a little enough; but envy always turns wealth into a desert.
The best donor gives knowing that what is given is not their own - but is God’s.