In any society, order is the first need of all. Liberty and justice may be established only after order is tolerably secure. But the libertarians give primacy to an abstract liberty. Conservatives, knowing that "liberty inheres in some sensible object,"… — Russell Kirk Copy Share Image
“[A] people needs to understand what freedom is. We Americans are fortunate that the Founders and their generation possessed that understanding. They knew that freedom, per se, is not enough. They knew that freedom must be limited to be preserved.… — Russell Kirk Copy Share Image
“Only portions of the globe still enslaved by the enemies of the people refrained from congratulating President Zingu and Premier Villiers-Kolama upon the astounding… — Russell Kirk Copy Share Image
“Manfredo -- Your Excellency -- how can you, even you, hope...?" "Life is a jest, and all things show it, my dear," I replied;… — Russell Kirk Copy Share Image
“Today, as in the past, we ought to remind ourselves that the true natural law is not a mere congeries of appetites, and that… — Russell Kirk Copy Share Image
Moral decay first hampers and then strangles honest government, regular commerce, and even the ability to take genuine pleasure in the goods of this… — Russell Kirk Copy Share Image
“Men are put into this world, he [the enlightened conservative] realizes, to struggle, to suffer, to contend against the evil that is in their… — Russell Kirk Copy Share Image
Mine was not an Enlightened mind, I now was aware: it was a Gothic mind, medieval in its temper and structure. I did not… — Russell Kirk Copy Share Image
Humility, which Burke ranked high among the virtues, is the only effectual restraint upon this congenital vanity; yet our world has nearly forgotten the… — Russell Kirk Copy Share Image
Rousseau and his disciples were resolved to force men to be free; in most of the world, they triumphed; men are set free from… — Russell Kirk Copy Share Image
If men are discharged of reverence for ancient usage, they will treat this world, almost certainly, as if it were their private property, to… — Russell Kirk Copy Share Image
“The Conservative Mind describes a cast of intellect or a type of character, an inclination to cherish the permanent things in human existence. On… — Russell Kirk Copy Share Image
![“[A] people needs to understand what freedom is. We Americans are fortunate that the Founders and their generation possessed that understanding. They knew that freedom, per se, is not enough. They knew that freedom must be limited to be preserved. This paradox is difficult for many students to…” quote by Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ada/russell-kirk-6909_common-law_a-people-needs-to-understand-what-freedo_2205440.jpg)
![“Men are put into this world, he [the enlightened conservative] realizes, to struggle, to suffer, to contend against the evil that is in their neighbors and in themselves, and to aspire toward the triumph of Love. They are put into this world to live like men, and to die like men. He seeks to…” quote by Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/8f1/russell-kirk-6909_love_men-are-put-into-this-world-he-the-enlig_208424.jpg)
