A true teacher defends his students against his own personal influences.

The reason for the sadness of this modern age and the men who live in it is that it looks for the truth in everything and finds it.

The older generation had greater respect for land than science. But we live in an age when science, more than soil, has become the provider of growth and abundance. Living just on the land creates loneliness in an age of globality.

Love, with very young people, is a heartless business. We drink at that age from thirst, or to get drunk it is only later in life that we occupy ourselves with the individuality of our wine.

Older fatherhood isn't all bad: testosterone rates drop about 1% per year as men age, making them less reactive and more patient, and a professionally established middle-aged man is likely to have more time and money to devote to his kids than a twenty-something who's just getting started.

I can't get my knickers in a twist about my age and ageing in an industry that caters to the ids of 14-year-olds.