It is a pity, then, that Europe's stability and growth pact, as it stands, is neither.

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The sustaining magic of Defoe's novel is that the reader comes to regard Crusoe's self-sufficient solitude first with pity, and then with grudging envy.

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He then lived off a generous pension granted out of pity by Queen Anne.

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"It is a pity that Lord Moynihan did not join us then and help protect sport in state schools, " said Mr Efford.

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His protagonist's self-pity becomes hopelessly intertwined with funny absurdity, but then the wrenching consequences of his words become clear.

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