THE FONT OF ALL KNOWLEDGE

There must be a large number of people who heard with regret the news today that the Encyclopaedia Britannica is to cease publication in print. In the days before you could use the internet and and a search engine to find out everything you want to know, there was something delightful about turning the pages of a book of knowledge. I’m sure the decision is in no related to grounds for divorce but it did remind me of the occasion when, once upon a time, a client sought my advice in relation to his separation from his wife.

“I even gave all my volumes of the Encyclopaedia Britannica to a charity shop because of my wife,” he said.

“Why was that?” I asked, expecting him to tell me it was because she’d insisted they took up too much space or were too ugly for their bookcase.

“I didn’t need them,” he replied. “Once we were married, I discovered that my wife knew all there is to know about everything!”