Paul Johnson: Prager University | Wisdom of the Masters

All right, here I am with the great historian Paul Johnson at his home in London. And I'm gonna ask you just a few questions and get your thoughts. First, why do you think religion in Europe has become so unpopular? Well, there is a very big secular movement in Europe—socialism, social democracy, and so on. However, there are still vast numbers of Christians in Europe, as well as Jews, of course. And I don't think religion is dying out there at all. There could well be a religious revival over the next 20 years. If you were to give one powerful argument for being a religious person as opposed to a secular person, what would it be? If you want to be a happy person, I don't say that being religious will make you happy, but certainly nothing else will. And I think if you've got a genuine religion of the Judeo-Christian tradition, it enables you to meet misfortune face-to-face and overcome it and adapt yourself to it and to see the brighter side of life. - Do you pray? - Oh yes, certainly. I always kneel down by my bed before getting into it and I pray for people and things and all kinds of things. There's about sixty people on my prayer list at the moment. Do you have a favorite book in the Bible? Yes, I think the best book in the Bible is the book of Job. That's a very mysterious book in some ways, and it's well worth reading and re-reading because there's all kinds of beautiful things in it. And the story of this unfortunate man, and terrible things have happened to him and the way he survived over them—of course, it has a happy ending. The happy ending is the least convincing thing in it, actually. But it's a wonderful book. How do you react when an American says that America is the last, best hope of humanity, as Lincoln put it? Do you think that's arrogant? No, I often say it myself, and I think it's true. And I don't regard America and England as different countries. I regard them both as family. So anything that's good for America is good for me as an Englishman. And anything which is bad for America is bad for me as an Englishman. If America is rich and happy and prosperous and doing the right thing in the world, then there's no one more delighted than I am. How do you explain anti-Americanism? It's a disease, like anti-Semitism. It's an intellectual disease. And some of these diseases ... it's impossible to fathom. All one knows is that they can be cured, and the best way to cure it is for people to go to America and meet Americans. Do you think there is a great threat today? What I would like to see is this brand of freedom in China because China is becoming a very important force in the world and it's still run by a very narrowly-based communist dictatorship. They don't believe in communism anymore. Whoever did? But they believe in retaining power, and I would like to see power devolve on the people of China because there's nothing wrong with the Chinese people. It's their rulers. What do you know now that you didn't know 30 years ago? I think it is terribly, terribly important to get chronology right. Remember the dates. Fix people with the dates. I think a weakness in chronology's impossible to write good history. What gave you the most satisfaction in your life? The most satisfaction I've had is being able to conceive, work on, and then write really big books on big subjects. If you set yourself a big subject and you then have to do careful reading and note-taking and organizing your thoughts about the subject, that's the way you really get to know the subject and that is a process of self-education that has gone on all my life, and it still continues. And I think learning is the greatest thing in life. If you could talk to the world's youth for a minute, what would you like to say to them? I'd like to say three things. First, never be discouraged if you don't pass the exams and do brilliantly at school. Secondly, always aim high. It doesn't matter what you're doing in life, but you always ought to aim high and set yourself the highest possible standards. Thirdly, do the good things in life. Don't waste your time on the mean things. Try and, uh ... Try and be magnanimous. Big-hearted. Those are the three things I would say. Well, it's an honor to be with you. Thank you, Paul Johnson. - JOHNSON: It's an honor to have you in my house. - Thank you.