Benjamin Disraeli

“ The less prejudiced, a Puseyite for example, like our friend Vavasour, will assure us that the state of Italy has nothing to do with the spirit of its religion, but that it is entirely an affair of commerce; a revolution of commerce has convulsed its destinies. I cannot forget that the world was once conquered by Italians who had no commerce. Has the development of Western Asia been progressive? It is a land of tombs and ruins. Is China progressive, the most ancient and numerous of existing societies? Is Europe itself progressive? ”

“ This was a dinner of which the guests came to partake. Though they delighted in each other's society, their meetings were not so rare that they need sacrifice the elegant pleasures of a refined meal for the opportunity of conversation. ”

“ Vavasour, in a mock peremptory tone, 'that there would not be a ball.'
'And Lord Valentine told me yesterday that there would be a ball, and what the ball would be; and what is more, I have fixed on my dress,' said Mrs. Coningsby.
'Such a rapid decision proves that much antiquarian research is not necessary,' said Sidonia. 'Your period is modern.'
'Ah!' said Edith, looking at Sidonia, 'he always finds me out. Well, Mr. Vavasour, you will not be able to crown yourself with a laurel wreath, for the gentlemen will wear wigs.'
'Louis Quatorze?' said her husband. ”

“ Vavasour saw something good in everybody and everything, which is certainly amiable, and perhaps just, but disqualifies a man in some degree for the business of life, which requires for its conduct a certain degree of prejudice. ”

“ Is it what you call civilisation that makes England flourish? Is it the universal development of the faculties of man that has rendered an island, almost unknown to the ancients, the arbiter of the world? ”

“ They had everything but a man.'
'Why were the Whigs smashed in 1834,' said Coningsby, 'but because they had not a man?'
'What is the real explanation of the state of Mexico?' said Sidonia. 'It has not a man.'
'So much for progress since the days of Charles the Fifth,' said Henry Sydney. 'The Spaniards then conquered Mexico, and now they cannot govern it.'
'So much for race,' said Vavasour. 'The race is the same; why are not the results the same?'
'Because it is worn out,' said Sidonia. 'Why do not the Ethiopians build another Thebes, or excavate the colossal temples of the cataracts? ”

“ Nothing so rare as a female dinner where people eat, and few things more delightful. On the present occasion some time elapsed, while the admirable performances of Sidonia's cook were discussed, with little interruption; a burst now and then from the ringing voice of Mrs. Coningsby crossing a lance with her habitual opponent, Mr. Vavasour, who, however, generally withdrew from the skirmish when a fresh dish was handed to him. ”

“ Would not you like to practise a little with your crusados at the Queen's ball before you go to the Holy Sepulchre?'
'I would rather hear your description of it,' said Tancred.
'Lord Henry, I see, is half inclined to be your companion as a Red-cross Knight,' continued Edith. 'As for Lady Marney, she is the successor of Mrs. Fry, and would wish, I am sure, to go to the ball as her representative.'
'And pray what are you thinking of being?' said Mr. Vavasour. 'We should like very much to be favoured with Mrs. Coningsby's ideal of herself.'
'Mrs. Coningsby leaves the ideal to poets. ”

“ Look at the great centuries of the Roman Empire! You had two hundred millions of human beings governed by a jurisprudence so philosophical that we have been obliged to adopt its laws, and living in perpetual peace. ”

“ It is her inhabitants that have done this; it is an affair of race. A Saxon race, protected by an insular position, has stamped its diligent and methodic character on the century. And when a superior race, with a superior idea to work and order, advances, its state will be progressive, and we shall, perhaps, follow the example of the desolate countries. All is race; there is no other truth.'
'Because it includes all others?' said Lord Henry.
'You have said it.'
'As for Vavasour's definition of civilisation,' said Coningsby, 'civilisation was more advanced in ancient than modern times ”

“ A man under the Antonines might travel from Paris to Antioch with as much ease and security as we go from London to York. As for free trade, there never was a really unshackled commerce except in the days when the whole of the Mediterranean coasts belonged to one power. ”

“ No one has confidence in himself; on the contrary, every one has a mean idea of his own strength and has no reliance on his own judgment. Men obey a general impulse, they bow before an external necessity, whether for resistance or action. ”