| Old men can be forgiven for believing that they will live for ever. After all, they have the evidence of longevity behind them. |
| Old men can be forgiven for believing that the quality of their judgment, like coatings of nacre around a pearl, improves with age, for have not our holy scriptures reassured them that ‘with the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding'? |
| And old men, whether Popes or Presidents, need to be forgiven for assuming that the doctrine of infallibility was ordained specifically for them, as an invincible protection against temporal rebellion. [EXTRACT] |
Published in THE NATION 6 May 1993, and reprinted in THE ARMLESS QUEEN (1994). |
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