‘Like me,’ she said to them, ‘you were late in coming.

The shepherds were here long before; even the cattle. They had joined the chorus of angels before you were on your way….’

‘How laboriously you came, taking sights and calculating, whereas the shepherds had run barefoot! How odd you looked… laden with such preposterous gifts….’

‘Yet you came, and were not turned away….

You are the especial patrons of the latecomers…

of all who are confused with knowledge and speculation…

of all who stand in danger by reason of their talents.’

Evelyn Waugh (1908-66), Helena.