'There was here a little grave of a child aged two who had died nearly fifty years before. On this grave was a vase with a single fresh flower in it. Two years later, when I returned to again indulge my affection for cemeteries, the vase was still there, and still with a fresh flower'

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Asked what lies ahead for the world, the most famous of contemporary French writers replied with customary asperity, 'The same—only worse.' Man does not learn from experience or from anything else, he maintains; and because time’s arrow flies in one direction only, we cannot restore a smashed civilisation. In short, we are doomed

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It is one thing to be against authority under a dispensation that will imprison you or even kill you and it is quite another under a dispensation that will do neither of these things, and may even reward you, for your supposed or alleged revolt

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When the Wuhan virus has come and gone, will it have improved our character, as once cold showers were said to do? Shall we bear in mind the fragility of things, be less wasteful, less inclined to take everything for granted? If I know humanity, the answer is “No”. 'Millions may die' will remain a thrilling headline so long as one does not expect to be among those millions

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Stigma is one of those many things that is neither good nor bad in itself, and depends for its social beneficence or maleficence on what it attaches to and how strongly. In the company of miscreants, one can be stigmatised for honesty. Many a cruel act has been performed to avoid the stigma of being perceived too cowardly to be cruel.

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If at a time of national emergency political leaders are observed eating a meal, they stand accused of callous indifference, even if we continue to eat meals ourselves. Going on a family holiday is deemed even worse. But I don’t feel all that sorry for them. He who lives by courting the mob dies by courting the mob

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When David Merritt's son was slain in London by a terrorist newly released from prison, the father interrupted his grieving to hope that the unfortunate incident would not promote more “draconian” sentences. An Islamist firebrand would see this wish as further confirmation of the West's weakness. To my ears, though, it resonated with moral preening

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There is a semi-serious theory of nominative determinism, according to which a name may influence a person’s life choices. While it doesn't quite explain why seven-year-old Rhythm Pacheco is a politically correct scold, it does suggest Liberian lawyer Hitler Coleman has attempted to live down his name by defending the rule of law

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As a prison doctor, I wondered why so many black inmates converted to Islam rather than reverting to the Christianity of their childhoods. My notion is that they feel massively ill-treated by society and, knowing how most people in society regard Islam, the creed is a perfect and natural fit

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Supposing I claimed a man entered my house and stole goods from me, but there was no collateral or corroboratory evidence of his having done so: would any court take me seriously? In Victoria, were the man I accused George Pell, my reading of the appeals court judgment strongly suggests I would have the satisfaction of seeing him imprisoned

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