“... becomes almost irresistible; and it is relied on to produce a fortunate and economical result: self-censorship. We stay out of trouble by gagging ourselves. Among the few motives that may strengthen the power of resistance is the consciousness of having been deeply wrong oneself, either regarding some abstract question or in personal or public ...”

“... are all luxury wars and people are very proud of the way we are fighting, the quick victories, the self-image of the brave Israeli – very flattering! Yes, Israelis have fought well, and for the most part the Arabs haven’t: but how is it that, as has been the case for much of this century, the premises on which Western support for Israel is based are still ...”

“... naive to have misgivings about using Keats for anecdotes in which he himself figured as the nobly self-sacrificing friend and witness. These sentimentalities he communicated to Shelley, who, less naive, used them to concoct in the elegy ‘Adonais’ a version of Keats as a ‘young flower … blighted in the bud’, a hapless youth attended in his need by ...”

“... was required to redress it? In its years of power, the PT had done little to foster a culture of self-critical analysis; or reflection on where it, or the country, was going. Intellectuals had been useful as a bridge to public visibility in the early days. Once in office, though many – perhaps most – continued to support it, the party essentially ignored ...”

“... believe. John Rothenstein, giving high praise to the early paintings including the splendid 1914 self-portrait that provides a cover for the biography, said much of the later work gave the impression of being stopped only by the margin of the canvas. Given another couple of feet or so Spencer would have filled it without premeditation. The religious ...”

“... all the arguments about disapproval of the system not being a reason not to participate in it, the self-importance implied by renunciation, the need for people not affiliated to a political party to contribute their expertise, and so forth. Just what my own expertise might consist in I’m somewhat at a loss to say, although I do have a powerful maiden speech ...”

“... conversation (or a committee) with a group of men: that combination of disdain for the loathsome self-display of the preening, talking male and grudging admiration for the obvious effectiveness of that style of discourse, for the fact that people really do stop and listen. It is not an entirely new analysis, of course – by no means as ...”

“... must have felt a forlorn affection for the pair, but had no confidence in their wider appeal. Self-confidence was Joyce’s speciality, however. Whatever he wrote was quite sure of its reception, like a king in disguise: the details of his own life had the same mesmeric authority for early readers as the scraps from books read by Eliot have for readers of ...”

“... little that is known. Kiernan writes of the Covenanters as humble folk who took up arms only in self-defence. This might suggest some lack of acquaintance with their more bloodthirsty statements – for instance, the ‘Apologetical Declaration’. The trouble with Kiernan’s image of the ‘humble’ and ‘passive’ dissident Covenanters persecuted by ...”

“... and insecure state doubtless led to wider definitions than might have been acceptable in more self-assured national communities. Nevertheless the elements were clearly there – a soaring population in a countryside increasingly unable to feed it, land in few and extortionate hands, and cities unable to absorb the rural exodus by providing immigrants with ...”

“... lists old and influential Popes and theologians. But nothing statistical can be learnt from such self-selected samples, usually of people of affluence or standing, even if the ages alleged are correct. Fame, after all, has more chance of attaching itself to the long than the short-lived. A more interesting suggestion put forward here is that the Black Death ...”

“... dismisses celebration of its achievements during the Medieval period as ‘European self-denigration’ deriving from ‘obsession with “extensive” power’. The fourth defect springs directly from the third. Mann’s answer to the ‘old question’ places much emphasis – and plausibly so – on the early date by which the institutions of ...”

“... Irremediable ignorance, entirely inappropriate customary behaviour, and, worst of all, the crass self-conceit of medical doctors, were the reasons for their misguided practices in the nurturing of their children. Mrs Fildes’s authoritativeness springs from the fact that she was herself a professional nurse of babies and children, and is also a mother. She ...”

“... hospital, was a great critical success. She was good at the business end of poetry too, an adept self-promoter, networker and marketer. Adrienne Rich remembered Sexton’s poise and elegant good looks at a Boston party. As Middlebrook notes, ‘success in the poetry business resembled success in the wool business.’ Salesmanship and marketing certainly ...”