Even At Our Birth, Death Does But

When Statesmen Forsake Their Own Private Conscience For The Sake Of Their Public Duties, They Lead Their Country By A Short Route To Chaos.

Morality's Not Practical. Morality's A Gesture. A Complicated Gesture Learnt From Books.

Thomas More: Will, I'd Trust You With My Life. But Not Your Principles. You See, We Speak Of Being Anchored To Our Principles. But If The Weather Turns Nasty You Up With An Anchor And Let It Down Where There's Less Wind, And The Fishing's Better. And "look," We Say, "look, I'm Anchored! To My Principles!

If We Lived In A State Where Virtue Was Profitable, Common Sense Would Make Us Good, And Greed Would Make Us Saintly. And We'd Live Like Animals Or Angels In The Happy Land That /needs/ No Heroes. But Since In Fact We See That Avarice, Anger, Envy, Pride, Sloth, Lust And Stupidity Commonly Profit Far Beyond Humility, Chastity, Fortitude, Justice And Thought, And Have To Choose, To Be Human At All... Why Then Perhaps We /must/ Stand Fast A Little --even At The Risk Of Being Heroes.

This Account Of Him [thomas More] Developed As I Wrote: What First Attracted Me Was A Person Who Could Not Be Accused Of Any Incapacity For Life, Who Indeed Seized Life In Great Variety And Almost Greedy Quantities, Who Nevertheless Found Something In Himself Without Which Life Was Valueless And When That Was Denied Him Was Able To Grasp His Death.