The real tragedy of the poor, as Oscar Wilde once pointed out, is that they can afford nothing but self-denial. Well, that and over-sized car speakers and fast-food and, on occasion, economy-class plane tickets.

It is tempting to place one's faith in the rich. Even the poor, nowadays, do so. This is understandable. For in a market society where the acquisition of wealth is the only consistently respected value, the rich provide an edifying example. And the poor have little opportunity to learn otherwise.

Ask a mother in, say, Texas, whether she has ever signed up her children to appear in a pornographic film and pay attention to her trigger-hand. It will invariably slip into her purse. Ask her, on the other hand, if she has ever signed up her boy for pee-wee football and she will look at you ...

We are witnessing the speciation of the human race. Not along racial or genetic boundaries, but ones economic and technological.

When ejaculating on the face and chest of a beautiful young man or beautiful young woman, be sure to express how pleasurable it feels. If lines of Keats spontaneously come to mind, recite aloud.

Watch closely the big battle scene in one of those old Hollywood epics about the Roman empire and you will notice a certain number of bit actors looking around as if they are not quite sure what exactly it is they are supposed to be doing. It is very often the subtlest detail of historical accuracy.

In a closed society, the individual may be denied his full allotment of freedom and liberty. He is spared, however, a certain amount of gratuitous rhetoric on the subject.