'anarchy and order'
the herbert read collection is housed in a seminar room of the kiad library and on entering it i found a first edition copy of 'anarchy and order'. the head librarian kathleen godfrey simply opened the bookcase and handed it over. i am choosing to take this as an omen
i remember starting something of his on buddhism but was put off by the style. this is much more readable and contains considerable wisdom
"It is possible that out of the ruins of our civilization a new religion will emerge, just as the Christian religion emerged from the ruins of the Roman civilization"
"Faith in the fundamental goodness of man; humility in the presence of natural law; reason and mutual aid - these are the qualities that can save us. But they must be unified and vitalized by an insurrectionary passion, a flame in which all virtues are tempered and clarified, and brought to their most effective strength."
and he refers to lord acton's dictum "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely"