Quotations

‘The perils of change are so great, the promise of the most hopeful theories is so often deceptive, that it is frequently the wiser part to uphold the existing state of things, if it can be done, even though, in point of argument, it should be utterly indefensible...Resistance is folly or heroism—a virtue or a vice—in most cases, according to the probabilities there are of its being successful.’ Lord Salisbury


‘I have for so many years entertained a firm conviction that we were going to the dogs that I have got to be quite accustomed to the expectation.’ Lord Salisbury

'In Germany it would be considered, at best, poor form to emphasise how much the German economy benefits from the internal market, the common trade policy, the competition rules and, above all, the common currency. Not because it is not true. But because in German political discourse the EU is portrayed as something greater, something almost more noble, than a mere transmission mechanism for Germany’s economic success.' Sir Peter Lever, former British ambassador to Germany, quoted in an article by Dominic Lawson in the latest issue of The Sunday Times.