This judgment goes to the heart of Kipling’s character. He was a conservative in the sense that he believed civilization to be something laboriously achieved which was only precariously defended. He wanted to see the defences fully manned and he hated the liberals because he thought them gullible and feeble, believing in the easy perfectibility of man and ready to abandon the work of centuries for sentimental qualms.
Evelyn Waugh
Coincidentally, I just read this quote recently myself. It is a fine quote indeed.
ReplyDelete"If any question why we died. Tell them. Because our fathers lied." (Kipling)
ReplyDeleteI like it. But what we need today are not conservatives, IMO, but revolutionaries.
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