This is what I like to see. Some fighting spirit! John Bennett at Gartmore took over a lot of Roger Guy's stuff, pan-European equities, or something like that. Or maybe I've got that wrong. What do I know? Anyway, you would think that he would be hitting the whisky, drowning his sorrows. Not a bit of it! This man is a warrior! Like me, he went to the University of Life and the University of Death. I feel an incredible bond with this man. Mystical, it is. Oh, he's quite a man. But don't just take my word for it, take his. Let Mr Bennett explain himself to those with open minds and open hearts (yes, the best of my readers) -
I am John Bennett. I am a fund manager. I own over 3 per cent of Gartmore. What's that worth? Who cares? It may be worth nothing. But what is a man worth, lost in this cold world, or happy and burning on the astral plane with financiers who died long ago? Those financiers! I have seen them alive, and seen them dead. Life and death, it's all the same to me. Flesh into shadows, and shadows into flesh. I don't ask questions. It is not my job to investigate the mysteries. In fact, I laugh at the mysteries. That's why I do not get upset when evil people tell me that the good times at Gartmore are coming to an end. My mind is not disturbed. What did Krishna say to Arjuna? You must fight! And Krishna was right. And then there was Napoleon at Waterloo. The Prussians could have been on the moon for all he cared. So let's not worry about victory or defeat. Let's concern ourselves with honour. An old-fashioned concept, sure, but honour is important. Julius Caesar! Why did Caesar's army fight for him at Pharsalos? To defend his honour. No other reason. And after such great deeds, he would have been condemned had he not sought the help of his army. What was he to do, hand himself over to a bunch of nonentities in Rome? His men understood. Oh, we must always fight the darkness of lower beings. That's why Mr Fowke continues with his blog. Imagine the glee of his enemies if he were ever to stop. And that's why I continue with my work at Gartmore. You won't catch me climbing out of a window, slinking off in disgrace. No, I am staying at my desk. They won't take me alive! Death before dishonour!
Thank you, John. Good luck!
I find it interesting that Mr Bennett mentioned Julius Caesar. Even more than Napoleon, Caesar should be an inspiration to all men of ambition. Let me quote from Christian Meier's biography of the great man: 'The only certainty was that Caesar had found his own path, the path he had always sought. Since the contemporary oppositions afforded the outsider nothing that would have induced him to take up a firm, objective position, he had to find his point of reference, his criteria, within himself. With no cause to take up, he had to develop his personality freely and without ties. He wanted to demonstrate his virtus - the manliness so admired by the Romans - through deeds. His pride, his awareness of his own superiority and the self-confidence that grew with every new success made him certain of achieving the goals he had set himself. Having distanced himself from everyone else and deliberately set himself apart from his peers, he could begin to show his true greatness, knowing that he was free to realize all his rich talents without too much consideration for others, and convinced that he possessed incomparably more strength, skill and insight than all of them.'
I am John Bennett. I am a fund manager. I own over 3 per cent of Gartmore. What's that worth? Who cares? It may be worth nothing. But what is a man worth, lost in this cold world, or happy and burning on the astral plane with financiers who died long ago? Those financiers! I have seen them alive, and seen them dead. Life and death, it's all the same to me. Flesh into shadows, and shadows into flesh. I don't ask questions. It is not my job to investigate the mysteries. In fact, I laugh at the mysteries. That's why I do not get upset when evil people tell me that the good times at Gartmore are coming to an end. My mind is not disturbed. What did Krishna say to Arjuna? You must fight! And Krishna was right. And then there was Napoleon at Waterloo. The Prussians could have been on the moon for all he cared. So let's not worry about victory or defeat. Let's concern ourselves with honour. An old-fashioned concept, sure, but honour is important. Julius Caesar! Why did Caesar's army fight for him at Pharsalos? To defend his honour. No other reason. And after such great deeds, he would have been condemned had he not sought the help of his army. What was he to do, hand himself over to a bunch of nonentities in Rome? His men understood. Oh, we must always fight the darkness of lower beings. That's why Mr Fowke continues with his blog. Imagine the glee of his enemies if he were ever to stop. And that's why I continue with my work at Gartmore. You won't catch me climbing out of a window, slinking off in disgrace. No, I am staying at my desk. They won't take me alive! Death before dishonour!
Thank you, John. Good luck!
I find it interesting that Mr Bennett mentioned Julius Caesar. Even more than Napoleon, Caesar should be an inspiration to all men of ambition. Let me quote from Christian Meier's biography of the great man: 'The only certainty was that Caesar had found his own path, the path he had always sought. Since the contemporary oppositions afforded the outsider nothing that would have induced him to take up a firm, objective position, he had to find his point of reference, his criteria, within himself. With no cause to take up, he had to develop his personality freely and without ties. He wanted to demonstrate his virtus - the manliness so admired by the Romans - through deeds. His pride, his awareness of his own superiority and the self-confidence that grew with every new success made him certain of achieving the goals he had set himself. Having distanced himself from everyone else and deliberately set himself apart from his peers, he could begin to show his true greatness, knowing that he was free to realize all his rich talents without too much consideration for others, and convinced that he possessed incomparably more strength, skill and insight than all of them.'
