This isn't the time for bravado, Mr. Orsini,' he said.

Brentford couldn't help himself. 'No, it isn't,' he said. 'Perhaps you could come back later?

When in doubt, do what they do in books, was one of Gabriel's secret mottos and - that rarest of things - a principle that he actually lived by.

Could it be, God forbid, that nationality is only a superficial, insignificant layer of the onion that is your being? What would you think of the man who would say of himself 'I am an overcoat' just because he happened to be wearing one?

Clusters of distant lights was the view of Mankind that he liked the best. The lights had the archaic charm of little fires on a plain, and the frailty about them, if it did not excuse anything, at least explained a lot of Man's stubborn ruthlessness. Mankind had not started the mess that was life, after all. And on the whole, it had been an interesting species to be a part of, the girls especially, as long as you remembered to watch your back.

My words fly up, my thoughts remain below: Words without thoughts never to heaven go.

The answer isn't more time but a greater awareness of the time we have.