Prologue

Part I – Beacons for Autumn

Socrates

Epicurus

Seneca

Boethius

Khayyām

Spinoza

Beethoven

Darwin

Twain

Russell

Pasternak

Arendt

Part II – Poems for Autumn

Poems of Loss

Poems of Solace

Poems of Hope

Poems of Joy

Poems of Love

Part III – Possessions for Autumn

Between the hermit and the hoarder

Epilogue

The Universe Does Revolve Around the Earth

Appendix – Looking Back

Four autobiographical talks first broadcast on BBC Radio 4

Omar Khayyam and I

Henry II and I

William Shakespeare and I

Isiah Berlin and I

Recommended Reading for Pleasure Acknowledgements