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At the end of his magnum opus Candide, the 18th century French writer and philosopher Voltaire advises: “Il faut cultiver notre jardin (one must cultivate one’s garden).” This urges practicality – look to the business in front of your eyes – but also points to the future, with work done in the present anticipating dividends yet to come.
When taoiseach-designate Simon Harris takes office next week, his to-do list will be daunting. Not as daunting as the 12 Labours of Hercules (which included capturing Cerberus, the three-headed guard dog of the underworld), but by any standards demanding.
The notion that “not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts” is an intriguing one. It’s particularly apt for the short story format — reliant on what’s implied rather than said to convey an essential truth.
No force on earth can stop an idea whose time has come. The Irish State’s €800m investment in Northern infrastructure and capital projects is an example of constructive, affirmative and forward-thinking politics.