“The best thing for being sad," replied Merlin, beginning to puff and blow, "is to learn something. That's the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then — to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting. Learning is the only thing for you. Look what a lot of things there are to learn.”T. H. White book The Book of MerlynThe Book of Merlyn (1977)
“Little childWho was me once,My pity on you—And reverence.If we could meetWhere I once strayed,The betrayerAnd the betrayed.If we could win backIn Time's defiance,Would you be afeared of me,Ten-year-old Terence?No, you would not fear.You would love, trust,Cherish, admireThis tedious dust.For oh! we were all brimming onceWith the sun-sparkled dew.One heart could have loved this hulk—The ignorant heart of you.”T. H. White "To My Self, Forty Years Ago".