“In political activity . . . men sail a boundless and bottomless sea; there is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place nor appointed destination. The enterprise is to keep afloat on an even keel; the sea… — Michael Oakeshott Copy Share Image
“There is no wealth but life. Life, including all its powers of love, of joy, and of admiration. That country is the richest which… — Michael Oakeshott Copy Share Image
“For there is not so complete and perfect a part that we know of nature, which does not owe the being it has, and… — Michael Oakeshott Copy Share Image
“to think nothing about the opinion of his society (if he be in any sense a member) is to be unconsciously influenced by it.” — Michael Oakeshott Copy Share Image
“For history and for science facts are self-evident and are the subject-matter of these studies, but for philosophy they are the most puzzling things… — Michael Oakeshott Copy Share Image
“To theorize’ means, to see as a whole. The actual is a small part of the whole, or a single aspect of it, which,… — Michael Oakeshott Copy Share Image
“Image the whole, then execute the parts— Fancy the fabric Quite, ere you build, ere steel strike fire from quartz Ere mortar dab brick!” — Michael Oakeshott Copy Share Image
“the first rule of Moritz Haupt for interpreting the classics,—‘Man soll nicht übersetzen.’ [‘Do not translate’:” — Michael Oakeshott Copy Share Image
“Property was thus appall’d / That the self was not the same / Single nature’s double name / Neither two nor one was call’d.” — Michael Oakeshott Copy Share Image
“a child might possibly change his country; a man can only wish that he might change it.” — Michael Oakeshott Copy Share Image
“England in August 1914 was more of a state than she was during the great industrial strikes of 1911–1912.” — Michael Oakeshott Copy Share Image
“To define a thing is to see it clearly, to see it as distinct from other things and at the same time to see… — Michael Oakeshott Copy Share Image
“in modern philosophy, the first glimpse of the true view of the conception of ‘might is right’ as applying to government is to be… — Michael Oakeshott Copy Share Image
