Neal Ascherson Quotes
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Darwinism did not strip meaning from the world but intensified it, 'by identifying it in as many aspects of life as possible'.
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To be defeated, but not to give in, is victory.
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I am always fascinated when people talk about 'the forging of a nation'. Most nations are forgeries, perpetrated in the last century or so.
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For the past 15 years or so, British governments have tried to persuade the rest of us that the best judges of the national interest are...businessmen. This may be a ridiculous statement, but - ominously - fewer and fewer people laugh at it.
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I think England has been in the long-term damaged by Britishness.
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I went into journalism in a grandiose way. I thought maybe I'd do a little journalism whilst I write the great novel of all time you see - one has to keep oneself afloat.
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The way that words mutate reminds me of fashions in music. The word - the note - is a constant. But the setting and chord in which it occurs alters with the mood of a nation from major to minor, from the assertive to the mournful and foreboding.
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Who invented political tolerance? The English invented it, it's something which has taken roots with some difficulty in Scottish politics.