Society

The artist's work constitutes the only satisfactory relationship he can have with his fellow-men since he seeks his real friends among the dead and the unborn. That is why he can't dabble in politics, it isn't his job. He must concentrate on values rather than policies. Today it all looks to me like a silly shadow-play, for rulling is an art, not a science, just as society is an organism, not a system.

Lawrence Durrell, "Mountolive", The Alexandria Quartet, Faber & Faber, 2009