... I can't help detesting my relations. I suppose it comes from the fact that none of us can stand other people having the same faults as ourselves. I quite sympathize with the rage of the English democracy against what they call the vices of the upper orders. The masses feel that drunkenness, stupidity, and immorality should be their own special property, and that if anyone of us makes an ass of himself he is poaching on their preserves...'
'I don't agree with a single word that you have said, and what is more, Harry, I feel sure you don't either.'
'How english you are, Basil! That is the second time you have made that observation. If one puts forward an idea to a true Englishman - always a rash thing to do - he never dreams of considering whether the idea is right or wrong. The only thing he considers is whether one believes it oneself. Now, the value of an idea has nothingwhatsoever to do with the sincerity of the man who expresses it. Indeed, the probabilities are that the more insincere the man is, the more purely intellectual will the idea be, as in that case it will not be coloured by either his wants, his desiders, or his prejudices. However, I don't propose to discuss politics, sociology, or metaphysics with you. I like persons better than principles, and I like persons with no principles better than anything else in the world.