Like Orwell, he was fascinated by the religious embrace that could be placed around that sense of belonging, despite rejecting the belief itself. ‘I have never known the meaning of the word God,’ he said. ‘I cannot even claim to be an atheist or an agnostic – I am somewhat like a tone-deaf person in relation to music.’ But regardless, Berlin kept to the Jewish festivals all his life. They were an expression of allegiance and provided a sense of meaning. ‘Stone-dry atheists,’ he said, ‘don’t understand what men live by.’
