More Quotes...

Just finished reading a book last week called 'The Heartbreaker' by Susan Howatch. Maybe it's because I didn't realise until I'd finished it that it was the third in a trilogy but there was something about the book that unsettled me. It's about a gay prostitue who's loving life and doing well in it until one of his clients dies and he ends up wrapped up in this church who are trying to save his soul basically. I think I was too skeptical about the church and the book was too in-your-face-evangelical for me. But it provided a few quotes for me to ponder over:

• 'I think this is one of those cases where we have to acknowledge the conventional rules and then summon the courage to step outside them. My father used to say that only by wholeheartedly embracing the monastic framework could a monk know when it was safe to step outside that framework in order to serve God in a situation where an orthodox response seemed inadequate'
• 'I know better than anyone else by this time that when you sup with the Devil you need more than just a long spoon to survive'
• 'The events of the trial reminded me of that famous saying attributed to Edmund Burke: "All that is required for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing".'
• 'Anything can become an idol, he says: a nation, a political party, a head of state- drink, drugs, food, football, rock music, pop stars-cars, boats, designer clothes- sex, exercise, loadsamoney- you name it. All these things may be good in themselvwes, but once they become and obsession you squander time and energy on illusions, your priorities get rearranged, your balanced lifestyle goes down the tubes and your true self gets stomped on. Or in other words, getting cut off from reality can make you physicaly, mentally and spiritually ill'.

In my opinion they forgot to include a religion amongst that list there but i'm just getting cynical in my old age. What I did find though was that in a hungover state earlier this week I decided to watch Bill Bailey's show 'Bewilderness' on DVD rather than read any more books on exorcisms, and my favourite quote of the week has to come from that

'I'm English, and therefore I crave disappointment'

How much more could you sum up a nation than like that?! :)