With these provocative thoughts on the central questions of living, Dr Simon May catches our minds off guard in areas as diverse as love, pride, self-esteem, gratitude, timing, lying, talking, knowing, suffering, escaping, silence, evil and thinking itself. By turns humorous and serious, his aphorisms go to the core of who we are.
The better one knows someone, the harder it is to recognize them.
Modesty shields us from others, humility from ourselves.
Not all impatience is a vice, but all vices may be forms of impatience.
Few of our deep problems can be resolved; most must be outgrown.
Chance, like a lover, is one of those awkward things of which we must be simultaneously slave and master.
________
'In reviving the lost art of the aphorism, Simon May writes with elegant insight, giving us the gift of truth about the human condition.'
A.C. Grayling
'Wit and wisdom do not always go together in this foolish world - but with Simon May they do, and we can all enjoy the result'
Douglas Hurd
'Full of insights, always delightful, and often profound, these aphorisms revive the art of concentrating pleasure and instruction in a single thought'
Roger Scruton
'Distilled wisdom is rare and valuable; it is here in abundance'
Peter Sutherland
'Through the interplay of themes such as love, escape, cynicism, stoicism, joy, suffering and the living of a fulfilling life, May distils the essence of familiar concepts and distinctions, and lays bare common character traits that might otherwise have gone undetected.'
The New Statesman
'"The faults of loved ones can be tolerated and even enjoyed - provided they have nothing in common with one's own." Amen. Wit and wisdom combine to provide the kind of book you love to quote. With hundreds to plunder from, falling under headings such as Talking, Knowing, Escaping and Ageing, this book is a small lesson in life.' Book of the Year,
The Financial Times
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