“A neoconservative is a liberal who's been mugged by reality. A neoliberal is a liberal who's been mugged by reality but has refused to press charges.”

“An intellectual may be defined as a man who speaks with general authority about a subject on which he has no particular competence.”

“If you believe that no one was ever corrupted by a book, you have also to believe that no one was ever improved by a book.”

“Democracy does not guarantee equality of conditions - it only guarantees equality of opportunity.”

“A conservative is a libertarian who has been mugged.”

“I don't want to base my life on a symbol," he said resolutely. "I want reality, and the Christian faith has always been rooted in reality. What's not rooted in reality is the faith of liberal scholars. They're the ones who are following a pipe dream, but Christianity is not a pipe dream.”

“Jenny Fields felt undone, the way only a person who has been careful can feel when confronted by a mistake.”