I'm fascinated by England. These islands are the northwest Orient, similar to Japan, where you discover the far extremes of temperament. England was paradise because we were far enough from the centres of power to be ourselves; people could lead thoughtful existences without too much pressure from the conquerors - Roy Harper, Hors d'Oeuvres, Issue 8 (1980)
If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost. That is where they should be. Now put the foundation under them - Henry David Thoreau
If the British refuse to take anything seriousl, the French take everything seriously - Jasper Gerard http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2092-2382612.html
I think everybody who has lived and worked in more than one country is going to wind up feeling permanently torn, feeling no place is entirely home. It's both a gain and a loss - Susan Neiman, http://www.newstatesman.com/ideas/2010/02/interview-obama-moral
I am a patriot. I don't have wet dreams about Margaret Thatcher, I don't think the British Empire was a damned fine way of civilising Johnny Foreigner, I'm not crazy about Elgar, I find the Royals faintly ridiculous, I don't decorate my home with pictures of horses or hunting scene table mats and I don't stand around in country pubs agreeing with everything in the Daily Mail. But England - not Britain - made me and I'm grateful. This gratitude would, I hope, in 1914 or 1940 have prepared me for death...as Tennyson said, 'Tho' much is taken, much abides' and what abides of England - perpendicular architecture, the poetry of Edward Thomas, a certain light, humour, memory - is enough for me, enough - Bryan Appleyard http://www.bryanappleyard.com/blog/2008/02/on-patriotism.php
Do not call them nations anymore but planetary partitions: the French partition, the US partition, the Russian partition, the Chinese partition or provinces - Robert Muller
Citizens of the world are not necessarily welcome - Theodore Zeldin, Intimate History of Humanity, p44
By picking the least charismatic or forceful people it could for the EU posts, I think Europe was saying, "We don't want a role on the global stage, we want to protect our comforts." They are great comforts, but it'd be good if Europe used its strength to support a progressive line - Susan Neiman, http://www.newstatesman.com/ideas/2010/02/interview-obama-moral
As a rule, indeed, grown-up people are fairly correct on matters of fact; it is in the higher gift of imagination that they are so sadly to seek. Kenneth Grahame