Endangered species …

… The Last Man of Letters - WSJ. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

“I’m associated with ‘a kind of conservatism,’ yes,” he says, repeating my phrase, “but what kind? I don’t have any politics. Politics has never interested me in the slightest degree. I often think of a line from Anatole France’s novel ‘Le Lys rouge’ in which the hero, based on France himself, says, ‘I am not so devoid of all talents as to occupy myself with politics.’ ” Then he adds obliquely: “It’s too bad most people don’t have a sense of humor.” Politics means humorlessness? “Yes, more or less. I think most people think of themselves as political animals. I’ll agree with the ‘animal’ part.”