On this showing, the nature of the breakdowns of civilizations can be summed up in three points: a failure of creative power in the minority, an answering withdrawal of mimesis on the part of the majority, and a consequent loss of social unity in the society as a whole.

There is no such thing as gratitude in international politics.

Man's true end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him for ever.

Nothing fails like success when you rely on it too much.

The world's greatest need . . . is mutual confidence. No human being ever knows all the secrets of another's heart. Yet there is enough confidence between mother and child, husband and wife, buyer and seller . . . to make social life a practical possibility. Confidence may be risky, but it is nothing like so risky as mistrust.

Civilization is a movement and not a condition, a voyage and not a harbor.

Sooner or later, man has always had to decide whether he worships his own power or the power of God.