This is not so much a paper as a series of loosely-connected essays and it requires explanation.

For some years I have felt that my generation had an unusual duty to the history of the profession. The first 180 years of actuarial history no doubt seemed eventful enough at the time but they took place against a stable background when interest rates were seldom outside the range 3% to 5%. But since 1945, say, a turbulence undreamed of in those earlier days has become the commonplace of our activities.