'but what we 're really talking about , ' said ryan calmly and courteously , the steeple having fallen , 'to be completely practical here , you understand , is that one can live in queenly luxury on a fraction of the interest earned by the reinvestment of a fraction of the interest earned by the reinvestment of ... et cetera , if you follow me , without the capital ever being touched in any incidence or for any reason ... ' 'again , i can not be passive , nor complacent , nor negligently ignorant .