28.10.2007 kl. 13.10
Till de ”neokonservativa” m.fl.:
Obstinacy, Sir, is certainly a great vice; and in the changeful state of political affairs it is frequently the cause of great mischief. It happens, however, very unfortunately, that almost the whole line of the great and masculine virtues, constancy, gravity, magnanimity, fortitude, fidelity, and firmness are closely allied to this disagreeble quality, of which you have so just an abhorrence; and in their excess, all these virtues very easily fall into it.
― Edmund Burke i ett tal om bl.a. Charles Townshends gärning, 1774, citerat efter Conor Cruise O’Brien, The Great Melody (Mandarin Paperbacks, 1993), s. 125. ”Sir” är Mr. Speaker, ”you” är House of Commons.