The mass of mankind, Burke implies, reason hardly at all, in the higher sense, nor ever can: deprived of folk-wisdom and folk-law, which are prejudice and prescription, they can do no more than cheer the demagogue, enrich the charlatan, and submit to the despot.

— Russell Kirk The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Eliot (1953)

More quotes by Russell Kirk

The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Eliot (1953)

Prescription, Authority, and Ordered Freedom,” in What is Conservatism? (1964)

The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Eliot (1953)

The Roots of American Order (1974)

Economics: Work and Prosperity in Christian Perspective (1989)

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