It is a simple but sometimes forgotten truth that the greatest enemy to present joy and high hopes is the cultivation of retrospective bitterness.

All religions have periods in their history which are looked back to with retrospective fear and trembling as eras of persecution and each religion has its own book of martyrs.

I've been asked to do a retrospective since I was about 28 and I always thought that was a bit odd. It's great to look forward as an artist because in the future the possibilities are infinite you look back and it's all fixed so it's a scary thing.

I don't know if this is the kind of retrospective analysis that people are fond of applying to their work or actions but it feels like I knew I was going to be famous and I knew that an element of that would be traumatic so that if I could make myself something big and otherworldly it would be a kind of defence.

The failure of the United Nations - My failure is maybe in retrospective that I was not enough aggressive with the members of the Security Council.

But after this natural burst of indignation no man of sense courage or prudence will waste his time or his strength in retrospective reproaches or repinings.

The problem is when you are writing something in retrospective it needs a lot of courage not to change or you will forget a certain reality and you will just take in consideration your view today.