It will be apparent therefore, that this is not an alternative to the first founding book of the Society of HumanKind. Quite the contrary. The two volumes are complementary. If 'Foundations' is a mystery then these Essays will only compound the confusion. I can offer no better advice to anyone finding themselves in that condition than that they should return to the earlier volume and try again to absorb the ideas presented there.

I have no need to tell those who approach this collection rightly that these Essays are no more than a random accumulation of thoughts and jottings about those aspects of the impact of the Society of HumanKind on our lives as are of particular interest to me. My preoccupations and prejudices are unashamedly displayed in the choice of subject matter. I have no doubt that my selection will teach the discerning reader as much about me as they do about the topics themselves. So be it. If I am found to be both fallible and no more than human then this second book will have served a most valuable additional purpose.

Let me also say that I intend to set out my own opinions here with all the clarity I can muster. I do so confident that my earlier advice in this Foreword has been followed, and my first book studied. My readers will then be sufficiently familiar with my writings not to be seduced into slavish acceptance of my views. No-one who has understood the uncertainty that permeates 'Foundations' will regard me, or any other single individual, as infallible on these or any other subjects.

To reinforce and clarify that point, and for the avoidance of all and any error, my first Essay deals with the only judgements which, in my opinion, ought to be accepted without resistance or dissent by every member of the Society. I mean those pronouncements of the World Council of Elders that set out what is to be done when a continuance of the Conditions of the Dogma requires concerted action by all humankind.

Let me end this 'Foreword' by saying that this book is no more that a prologue to a continuing dialogue to which each and every Member and Elder of the Society of HumanKind should devote some time during their lives. If the Society is to do its Duty to the effort to achieve the Objective of the Dogma, and so create the opportunity for the realisation of its Aim, then what is begun here should never be concluded.

In this volume I hope therefore, to lead by example in the expectation that better minds than mine will soon set out to emulate and perhaps overtake me. My motives are, of course, neither entirely pure nor necessarily selfless. I, above all, am aware how much my hope of salvation depends of the willingness of others to follow me down this road.