And somewhere from the dim ages of history the truth dawned upon Europe that the morrow would obliterate the plans of today.

Jesus Christ was innocent too,' said Svejk, 'and all the same they crucified him. No one anywhere has ever worried about a man being innocent. Maul halten und weiter dienen ['Grin and bear it and get on with the job'] - as they used to tell us in the army. That's the best and finest thing of all.

I was discharged from the army for idiocy and officially certified by a special commission as an idiot. I'm an official idiot.

When Švejk subsequently described life in the lunatic asylum, he did so in exceptionally eulogistic terms: 'I really don't know why those loonies get so angry when they're kept there. You can crawl naked on the floor, howl like a jackal, rage and bite. If anyone did this anywhere on the promenade people would be astonished, but there it's the most common or garden thing to do. There's a freedom there which not even Socialists have ever dreamed of.

And somewhere from the dim ages of history the truth dawned upon Europe that the morrow would obliterate the plans of today.

After debauches and orgies there always follows the moral hangover.

Great times call for great men.