I am death-fearing. I don't think I'm morbid. That seems to me a fear of death that goes beyond the rational. Whereas it seems to me to be entirely rational to fear death!

The more you learn, the less you fear. "Learn" not in the sense of academic study, but in the practical understanding of life.

Life seemed even more of a guessing game than usual.

If these are indeed the spirits of Englishmen and Englishwomen who have passed over into the next world, surely they would know how to form a proper queue?

You grew old first not in your own eyes, but in other people's eyes; then, slowly, you agreed with their opinion of you.

It's easy, after all, not to be a writer. Most people aren't writers, and very little harm comes to them.

You get towards the end of life - no, not life itself, but of something else: the end of any likelihood of change in that life. You are allowed a long moment of pause, time enough to ask the question: what else have I done wrong?