Wit & Wisdom

“I had a wonderful childhood, which is tough, because it’s hard to adjust to a miserable adulthood.” Larry David, quoted in The Observer

“Every fear hides a wish.” David Mamet, quoted on The Browser

“To live is so startling it leaves time for little else.” Emily Dickinson, quoted on Forbes.com

“The rewards for being sane may not be very many, but knowing what’s funny is one of them.” Kingsley Amis, quoted in the London Evening Standard

“Malt does more than Milton can/ To justify God’s ways to man.” A.E. Housman, quoted in The Times

“It is not power that corrupts, but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it, and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it.” Aung San Suu Kyi, quoted in The Daily Telegraph

“You can’t make old friends.” Christopher Hitchens, quoted in The Guardian

“More people are flattered into virtue than bullied out of vice.” Robert Smith Surtees, quoted in The Times

“The direction of escape is toward freedom. So what is ‘escapism’ an accusation of?” Ursula K. Le Guin, quoted on Newrepublic.com

“If the highest aim of a captain were to preserve his ship, he would keep it in port forever.” Thomas Aquinas, quoted on Inc.com

Statistic of the week

Of the 8,096 people registered homeless in London in 201516, only 3,271 were British. Nearly 3,000 were from central or eastern Europe, and 1,546 were Romanian.