At the moment of vision, the eyes see nothing.

I mean, if we're concerned genuinely with writing, I think we probably get on with our work. I think this is very true of English writers, but perhaps not so true of French writers, who seem to read each other passionately, extensively, and endlessly, and who then talk about it to each other - which is splendid.

Latin, as we all know, ultimately broke down into Spanish, Italian, French, and so on. One wonders whether there will be an imperial parallel with English breaking down into, shall we say, North American, European, Australian, and so on. On the other hand, there is this immense, inward-driving influence of radio and television that is bringing us all back together. One could say it's a fight between the two: a fight between regionalism and the standardization through communication.

What are we? Humans? Or animals? Or savages?

You'll get back to where you came from.

We've got to have rules and obey them. After all, we're not savages. We're English, and the English are best at everything.

Couldn't a fire outrun a galloping horse?