Sometimes I wonder if suicides aren't in fact sad guardians of the meaning of life. - Václav Havel

In late 1989, the profound transformation that took place in this country brought me here to Prague Castle. It all happened so suddenly that I did not even have time to properly consider whether or not I was up to the task, and I was sincerely of the opinion that I would just take it on for a few months until the first free elections. Clearly, things turned out quite differently: I have now been here for more than thirteen years, if we discount the short break in the latter half of 1992.

Truth lies not only in what is said, but also in who says it, to whom, why, how and under what circumstances.

The cliché organizes life; it expropriates people's identity; it becomes ruler, defense lawyer, judge, and the law.