The only political ism surviving in full strength from the past is nationalism. This was partly to be expected from the liberation of so many colonies simultaneously, beginning in the 1920s. But this nationalism differs from the old in two remarkable ways: it is not patriotic and it does not want to absorb and assimilate. On the contrary, it wants to shrink and secede, to limit its control to its one small group of like-minded-we-ourselves-alone. It is in that sense racist, particularist, sectarian, minority-inspired.

The eager or dutiful persons who subject themselves to these tidal waves of the classics and the moderns find everything wonderful in an absent-minded way. The…

Barzun 100: Celebrating Jacques Barzun's 100th Year, blog with links

A person is not a democrat thanks to his ignorance of literature and the arts, nor an elitist because he or she has cultivated them. The possession of knowledg…

Let every man honor and love the land of his birth and the race from which he springs and keep their memory green. It is a pious and honorable duty. But let us…

'You hate America, don't you?' she said. 'That would be as silly as loving it,' I said. 'It's impossible for me to get emotional about it, because real estate …

Don't be surprised if I demur, for, be advised My passport's green. No glass of ours was ever raised To toast The Queen.