The Conservative Mind at 70

What is a classic? T. S. Eliot, who along with Edmund Burke, became one of one of Russell Kirk’s primary cynosures, said in his lecture of that title that “If there is one word on which we can fix, which will suggest the maximum of what I mean by the term ‘a classic,’ it is the word maturity.” How many books find enthusiastic new audiences seventy years after their first publication? Precious few. By reason of longevity alone, The Conservative Mind, as of 2023 a septuagenarian, is a classic. But “maturity” is more than a chronological marker. It describes a quality of mind, a force of habit, a disposition and refinement of what Kirk, following Burke, would not have been too shy to call “prejudice.” By that standard, The Conservative Mind is like some lexical Athena. It was born mature, fully-armed and ready for battle.