Wills and inheritances loom large in an immense number of English-language novels. Sadly, we have come to take the idea of total ownership for granted -- a great pity because it is a key element of what both explains the Anglosphere and sets it apart

"The reason that a child of Greek parents in Melbourne is wealthier and freer than his cousin in Mytilene has nothing to do with race and everything to do with political structures..."