War is the unfolding of miscalculations.

Wisdom - meaning judgment acting on experience, common sense, available knowledge, and a decent appreciation of probability.

Nothing is more satisfying than to write a good sentence. It is no fun to write lumpishly, dully, in prose the reader must plod through like wet sand. But it is a pleasure to achieve, if one can, a clear running prose that is simple yet full of surprises. This does not just happen. It requires skill, hard work, a good ear, and continued practice.

We seem to be afflicted by a widespread and eroding reluctance to take any stand on any values, moral, behavioral or esthetic.

More than a code of manners in war and love, Chivalry was a moral system, governing the whole of noble life.

No less a bold and pugnacious figure than Winston Churchill broke down and was unable to finish his remarks at the sendoff of the British Expeditionary Force into the maelstrom of World War I in Europe.

To put away one's own original thoughts in order to take up a book is a sin against the Holy Ghost.