Humility is the only true wisdom by which we prepare our minds for all the possible changes of life.

True wisdom is less presuming than folly. The wise man doubteth often and changeth his mind the fool is obstinate and doubteth not he knoweth all things but his own ignorance.

The Iraq war was fought by one-half of one percent of us. And unless we were part of that small group or had a relative who was we went about our lives as usual most of the time: no draft no new taxes no changes. Not so for the small group who fought the war and their families.

War continues to divide people to change them forever and I write about it both because I want people to understand the absolute futility of war the 'pity of war' as Wilfred Owen called it.

Ants are so much like human beings as to be an embarrassment. They farm fungi raise aphids as livestock launch armies into war use chemical sprays to alarm and confuse enemies capture slaves engage in child labour exchange information ceaselessly. They do everything but watch television.

Officials at the White House are saying that President Bush hasn't changed his schedule much since the war started. The main difference they say is that he's started watching the news and taping Sponge Bob.

When I can look life in the eyes grown calm and very coldly wise life will have given me the truth and taken in exchange - my youth.

In fact men will fight for a superstition quite as quickly as for a living truth - often more so since a superstition is so intangible you cannot get at it to refute it but truth is a point of view and so is changeable.

Let's say a Soviet exchange student back in the '70s would go back and tell the KGB about people and places and things that he'd seen and done and been involved with. This is not really espionage there's no betrayal of trust.

Citizens the priority now is to recover trust between the Egyptian - amongst the Egyptians and to have trust and confidence in our economy and international reputation and the fact that the change that we have embarked on will carry on and there's no going back to the old days.