It was one of the occasions when Lymond asleep wrecked the peace of mind of more people than Lymond awake.

But I despised men who accepted their fate. I shaped mine twenty times and had it broken twenty times in my hands.

Versatility is one of the few human traits which are universally intolerable. You may be good at Greek and good at painting and be popular. You may be good at Greek and good at sport, and be wildly popular. But try all three and you’re a mountebank. Nothing arouses suspicion quicker than genuine, all-round proficiency.

If I can’t be personal, I don’t want to argue,” said his hostess categorically. “I may be missing your points, but you’re much too busy dodging mine.

It was one of the occasions when Lymond asleep wrecked the peace of mind of more people than Lymond awake.

Fools make news, and wise men carry it.

Repressively, Lymond himself answered. “I dislike being discussed as if I were a disease. Nobody ‘got’ me,” he said.