Though that biography is now known to be false, it suited to Davies's dramatic purpose perfectly, for his Taverner is about truth and falsehood, distinguishing one from the other and the price to be paid for artistic integrity in doing so.
Ideally, he has been pulled from his sleep - like Sheikh Mohammed - early in the morning, roughly handled, bound, hooded (a coarse, dirty, smelly sack serves the purpose perfectly), and kept waiting in discomfort, perhaps naked in a cold, wet room, forced to stand or to sit in an uncomfortable position.
In his preface, while reminding us that human beings are the only species to cry, Ben sums up our purpose perfectly: "Male tears may have been venerated in European cultures during the 19th century as a sign of high moral character, but these days they are all too hastily wiped away.
"They want to say, 'Turkish Kurds are important too — don't think the Kurdish problem has been solved.' " The ambush of Turkish soldiers on Oct. 21, which took place just a few miles from the Iraqi border, served the purpose perfectly.
"Radical Islamic terror" serves Russia's purpose perfectly.
Niels Diffrient, a designer who brought new-age functionality to the task chairs in the Humanscale collection, won a number of design awards for his uniquely crafted innovations, which serve this purpose perfectly.
Collecting, analyzing and selling such information for marketing purposes is perfectly legal.
With the proceeds the duo can finally leave this street life (which to all intents and purposes seems perfectly pleasant) behind them.
