There is too much to know. You can dig just a little in one bed, only to find a vast field stretching before you. Choose any disciple you like and the amount that you can know is overwhelming. A whole life might be spent in one small corner, a space that expands with every enquiry, every investigation. Fortunately, you can choose where to start and how to proceed. Unfortunately, if you have a thirst for understanding, one place is never enough.

My friend John Hawkins said to me twenty-five years ago that the time was short and there was much to learn. He had a sense of urgency about him, his living room piled with thick texts. Recently he gained his Doctorate, a measure of his progress, though he is unlikely to rest from his lifelong project.

I dip in a lot of places, not quite knowing where it will end, or whether it will even start.