What is conservatism? Is it not adherence to the old and tried against the new and untried?
There are people and interests that do not want change. It is not in their interest for this system to change.
There are people in every time and every land who want to stop history in its tracks. They fear the future, mistrust the present, and invoke the security of a comfortable past which, in fact, never existed.
A radical generally meant a man who thought he could somehow pull up the root without affecting the flower. A conservative generally meant a man who wanted to conserve everything except his own reason for conserving anything.
A conservative is a man who will not look at the new moon out of respect for that ancient institution, the old one.
Traditionalists often study what is taught, not what there is to create.
The status quo is the only solution that cannot be vetoed.
Keep yourselves to what is old, for that is good; our ancestors have proved it to be good; why should not we do as they did? New ideas [i.e. democracy, parliamentary reform] are now coming forward of which I do not nor ever shall approve. Mistrust these ideas and keep to the positive.
