Ian Towart

“and indeed the artists in their degradation were down on their knees, showering ardent kisses on the foul-smelling feet of the high-placed chisellers and low-born despots on whose charity they lived!”
― Joris-Karl Huysmans, Against Nature

“This is Old Age; but then, thou must outlive Thy youth, thy strength, thy beauty; which will change 540 To withered, weak, and gray; thy senses then, Obtuse, all taste of pleasure must forego, To what thou hast; and, for the air of youth, Hopeful and cheerful, in thy blood will reign A melancholy damp of cold and dry 545 To weigh thy spirits down, and last consume The balm of life.”
― John Milton, Paradise Lost

“History may well judge that the most important long-term consequence of 9/11 was the way the attacks that day distracted America from the biggest strategic shift of our time. They stopped America recognising China’s rise, made it easier for China to challenge US leadership, and harder for America to remain a significant power in Asia.”
― Hugh White, How to Defend Australia

“People could put up with being bitten by a wolf but what properly riled them was a bite from a sheep.”
― James Joyce, Ulysses