Conservatism, for me, is the philosophy and the politics of attachment.

A high culture is the self-consciousness of a society. It contains the works of art, literature, scholarship and philosophy that establish a shared frame of reference among educated people.

The great benefit of philosophy, which is also its great weakness, is that all its steps are taken in the spirit of doubt.

Politics is a matter of day-to-day improvisation, and it often seems as though the major parties are guided only by the desire to stay in office and not by any philosophy that might justify their doing so.

Fifty years would seem to be time enough to prepare a definitive history of the Second World War. In an age of instant data-gathering, one might think that the historians could have arrived at a consensus for interpreting the main events of the war. In reality, no such consensus exists.

I have to admit that I only read 'War and Peace' when I was 40. But I knew the basics before then.

We have peace with God as soon as we believe, but not always with ourselves. The pardon may be past the prince's hand and seal, and yet not put into the prisoner's hand.

There is a legitimate role for the police to keep the peace, but there should be a difference between a police response and a military response.