Time passes swiftly, but is it not joyous to see how great and growing is the treasure we have gathered together, amid the storms and stresses of so many eventful and to millions tragic and terrible years?

I devoured Gibbon. I rode triumphantly through it from end to end and enjoyed it all.

History's villains are more easily recognized in retrospect. In an article published in 1935 and reprinted in 1937, Winston Churchill expressed a curious ambivalence towards the German chancellor prior to the outbreak of war: We cannot tell whether Hitler will be the man who will once again let loose upon the world another war in which civilization will irretrievably succumb, or whether he will go down in history as the man who restored honour and peace of mind to the great Germanic nation. . . .

Perhaps it is better to be irresponsible and right, than to be responsible and wrong.

Everyone has his day and some days last longer than others.

Those who plan do better than those who do not plan, even should they rarely stick to their plan.

Success comes from continuing to strive, fail and learn without losing enthusiasm.