Back in Venice

"He who has truth at his heart need never fear the want of persuasion on his tongue." 

John Ruskin. But he can fear censorship by Facebook or Twitter.

John Ruskin said it in The Stones of Venice, a book I still haven't read. I shall start by reading quotations from it on Goodreads.

I am in Venice again, ten months after I spent six days here. I decided today that I find it repulsive.

Even though it has comparatively few tourists, which is the reason I flew over when I have a lot to do. Though there are quite a lot more than last July. It will be much better tomorrow though when the weekenders from Bavaria and Austria go home. 

Ruskin's theme was that Tyre, Venice and England were the three great maritime empires and the first two were merely memories. 

Before Margaret Thatcher (to whom I was opposed at the time) most people would have said England's day was over too. Now I don't think that is true but it is very clear that Europe, though never richer, is in a relative decline which seems likely to be terminal.