Arrogant Quote by Russell Kirk
“Even the wisest of mankind cannot live by reason alone; pure arrogant reason, denying the claims of prejudice (which commonly are also the claims of conscience), leads to a wasteland of withered hopes and crying loneliness, empty of God and man: the wilderness in which Satan tempted Christ was not more dreadful than the arid expanse of intellectual vanity deprived of tradition and intuition, where modern man is tempted by his own pride.”
About This Quote
Source Book: The Conservative Mind by Russell Kirk, 1953
Reason alone is insufficient; without tradition, intuition, and moral conscience, intellectual pride creates emptiness and isolation.
In simple terms: Reason needs tradition and conscience.
Key Takeaway
Balance reason with tradition and intuition.
Themes
philosophy
religion
pride
tradition
introspection
Mood
reflective
serious
thoughtful
Type
philosophical
spiritual
critical
When to use this quote
- academic debate
- personal decision making
- community building
- ethical leadership
Key Concepts
Conservatism
moral philosophy
spiritual emptiness
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you integrate intuition with rational decisions?
- What traditions guide your moral choices?
A Different Perspective
Intellectual pride can ignore emotional and spiritual needs.
![“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)
![“[T]he tax code has been piling up, year after year, a symbol of everything gone wrong in America, of arrogant rulers and lost freedom, just waiting for us to pick the whole thing up and heave it away. It has to happen. Free people can put up with such laws only for so long.” quote by Dick Armey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/aed/dick-armey-16265_america_t-he-tax-code-has-been-piling-up-year-af_12886.jpg)
