The Once and Future King (15).

T.H. White. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons. 1939.

Why read it? Merlyn teaches King Arthur the art of leadership. Part of his training was in learning to live with the animals and gain their perspective. Finally, he founded the Round Table. Merlyn is a most amazing character. A delightful and imaginative tale of what was to become known as Camelot. And a great deal of wisdom.

Ideas:

“Now this king had an idea, and the idea was that Force ought to be used, if it were used at all, on behalf of justice, not on its own account…thought that if he could get his barons fighting for truth, and to help weak people, and to redress wrongs, then their fighting might not be such a bad thing as once it used to be.” p. 628.

Arthur: “I am giving you the candle now [the legacy of the Round Table]—you won’t let it burn out?” p. 629.

“The fantastic thing about war was that it was fought about nothing—literally nothing.” p. 630.

“If people could be persuaded to read and write, not just eat and make love, there was still a chance….” p. 631.

“The fate of this man or that man was less than a drop, although it was a sparkling one, in the great blue motion of the sunlit sea.” p. 631.

The end.