Manuscript Found in Accra

The summer would like to make its warm days last for ever, because it believes that warmth is good for the Earth, but, in the end, it has to accept the arrival of autumn, which will allow the Earth to rest.

‘None of us can know what tomorrow will hold, because each day has its good and its bad moments. So, when you ask your questions, forget about the troops outside and the fear inside. Our task is not to leave a record of what happened on this date for those who will inherit the Earth; history will take care of that. We will speak, therefore, about our daily lives, about the difficulties we have had to face. That is all the future will be interested in, because I do not believe very much will change in the next thousand years.

able to rebuild Jerusalem, not just as a city, but as a centre of knowledge and a place where peace will once again reign.’

Some will write down what I say. Others will remember my words. The important thing is that tonight you will set off for the four corners of the world, telling others what you have heard. That way, the soul of Jerusalem will be preserved. And one day we will be

It isn’t what we learn from books, which serves only to fuel futile arguments about what happened or will happen; it is the knowledge that lives in the hearts of men and women of good will.’

‘They can destroy the city, but they cannot destroy everything the city has taught us, which is why it is vital that this knowledge does not suffer the same fate as our walls, houses and streets. But what is knowledge?’

When no one replied, he went on:

‘It isn’t the absolute truth about life and death, but the thing that helps us to live and confront the challenges of day-to-day life

the year 492 is about to end. We do not agree about dates or about the best way to worship God, but in every other respect we live together in peace.

‘Now that I am at the end of my life, I leave for those who come after me everything that I learned while I walked the face of this Earth. May they make good use of it.’