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A radical generally meant a man who thought he could somehow pull up the root without affecting the flower. A conservative generally meant a man who wanted to conserve everything except his own reason for conserving anything.

Gilbert K. Chesterton
Flower, Men, Roots
"The Evolution of Words and Meanings", The Illustrated London News, July 3, 1920.
A radical generally meant a man who thought he could somehow pull up the root without affecting the flower. A conservative generally meant a man who wanted to conserve everything except his own reason for conserving