Meden agan
Sir : As we have been publicly invited to accept guidance from the classics, would it not be well to take a more comprehensive view?
Unlike others I make no claim to be a classi- cal scholar but I do not recollect, as random examples, that, say, Pericles or Scipio dealt with dangerous situations by methods of com- promise. On the contrary, as a parable, I recall the story of Sciron, a famous robber. He not only exacted excessive tolls from the people in Attica, but compelled them on the Scironian rock to wash his feet, and kicked them into the sea while they were thus employed. At the foot of the rock there was a tortoise which devoured the bodies of the robber's victims.
To bring the story up to date, I suggest for Sciron write Sh . . . you know who!; for Attica write Britain; for tortoise write Bureau- cratic Waste. Theseus slew Sciron; doubtless the correct remedy but not one of moderation or compromise.
I suspect that some Opposition leaders would today confine themselves to politely inviting Sciron to desist. I for one think this is not good enough and if compromise is the Oppo- sition policy, Sciron will be persecuting us for a very long time to come.
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