“Thus the Western Empire died.”

This may well have made it more rather than less democratic than many countries today .

The story of the fifth century was one of the exploitation of imperial weakness.

Although commenting on issues of current importance was more common.

Only rarely did they advocate specific policies.

By pagans the Jews (and later Christians) were seen as perverse.

Almost indeed as atheists, for they denied the very existence of other gods.

In the main voters looked more for a capable individual who once elected could do whatever the State required.

At Rome there were nothing even vaguely resembling modern political parties although given the stifling impact of these.

And each candidate for office competed as an individual.

I was brought to Christ out of fear of going to hell. I didn’t want to go there if I died and there was only one other choice in my mind as a 4 year old. I wanted to go to heaven. It was and is that simple.

No one ever died with too much money.

[On her mother, who died when Hutton was 4:] I hardly remember her, but I have missed her all my life.

The Gospel is that Jesus Christ came to earth, lived the life we should have lived and died the death we should have died.

The king died and then the queen died is a story. The king died, and then queen died of grief is a plot.

Auschwitz is outside of us, but it is all around us, in the air. The plague has died away, but the infection still lingers and it would be foolish to deny it.

Don’t let what other people think decide who you are.

I never saw my grandfather because he had died before I was born, but I have good memories of my grandmother and of how she could play the piano at the old house.