The loss of the religious understanding of the human conditionโthat Man is a fallen creature for whom virtue is necessary but never fully attainableโis a loss, not a gain, in true sophistication. The secular substituteโthe belief in the perfection of life on earth by the endless extension of a choice of pleasuresโis not merely callow by comparison but much less realistic in its understanding of human nature.
Theodore DalrympleFeeling good about yourself is not the same thing as doing good. Good policy is more important than good feelings.
Theodore DalrympleThere is something deeply attractive, at least to quite a lot of people, about squalor, misery, and vice. They are regarded as more authentic, and certainly more exciting, than cleanliness, happiness, and virtue.
Theodore DalrympleThere is nothing that an intellectual less likes to change than his mind, or a politician his policy.
Theodore Dalrymple