Oh, wherefore come ye forth in triumph from the north, Thomas B. Macaulay More Quotes by Thomas B. Macaulay More Quotes From Thomas B. Macaulay A vice sanctioned by the general opinion is merely a vice. The evil terminates in itself. A vice condemned by the general opinion produces a pernicious effect on the whole character. The former is a local malady; the latter, constitutional taint. When the reputation of the offender is lost, he too often flings the remainder of his virtue after it in despair. Thomas B. Macaulay despairevilcharacter By poetry we mean the art of employing of words in such a manner as to produce an illusion on the imagination; the art of doing by means of words, what the painter does by means of colors. Thomas B. Macaulay colormeanart Propriety of thought and propriety of diction are commonly found together. Obscurity and affectation are the two greatest faults of style. Obscurity of expression generally springs from confusion of ideas; and the same wish to dazzle, at any cost, which produces affectation in the manner of a writer, is likely to produce sophistry in his reasonings. Thomas B. Macaulay expressionspringideas Scotland by no means escaped the fate ordained for every country which is connected, but not incorporated, with another country of greater resources. Thomas B. Macaulay fatemeancountry There is no country in Europe which is so easy to over-run as Spain; there is no country which it is more difficult to conquer. Thomas B. Macaulay runningeuropecountry The upper current of society presents no pertain criterion by which we can judge of the direction in which the under current flows. Thomas B. Macaulay societyflowjudging In the plays of Shakespeare man appears as he is, made up of a crowd of passions which contend for the mastery over him, and govern him in turn. Thomas B. Macaulay passionplaymen If ever Shakespeare rants, it is not when his imagination is hurrying him along, but when he is hurrying his imagination along. Thomas B. Macaulay rantimaginationifs A few more years will destroy whatever yet remains of that magical potency which once belonged to the name of Byron. Thomas B. Macaulay byronnamesyears In perseverance, in self command, in forethought, in all virtues which conduce to success in life, the Scots have never been surpassed. Thomas B. Macaulay perseveranceselfwar Western literature has been more influenced by the Bible than any other book. Thomas B. Macaulay westernliteraturebook In the infancy of civilization, when our island was as savage as New Guinea, when letters and arts were still unknown to Athens, when scarcely a thatched roofed hut stood on what was later the site of Rome, this contemned people had their fenced cities and cedar palaces, their splendid Temple, their fleets of merchant ships, their schools of sacred learning, their great statesmen and soldiers, their natural philosophers, their historians and their poets. Thomas B. Macaulay islandsartschool How it chanced that a man who reasoned on his premises so ably, should assume his premises so foolishly, is one of the great mysteries of human nature. Thomas B. Macaulay assumingmysterymen We cannot absolutely prove that those are in error who tell us that society has reached a turning point, that we have seen our best days. But so said all before us, and with just as much apparent reason. Thomas B. Macaulay errorsreasonsaid A dominant religion is never ascetic. Thomas B. Macaulay dominant It is, I believe, no exaggeration to say that all the historical information which has been collected in the Sanskrit language is less valuable than what may be found in the paltry abridgements used at preparatory schools in England. Thomas B. Macaulay believebookschool We are free, we are civilised, to little purpose, if we grudge to any portion of the human race an equal measure of freedom and civilisation. Thomas B. Macaulay purposeracelittles Thus, then, stands the case. It is good, that authors should be remunerated; and the least exceptionable way of remunerating them is by a monopoly. Yet monopoly is an evil. For the sake of the good we must submit to the evil; but the evil ought not to last a day longer than is necessary for the purpose of securing the good. Thomas B. Macaulay purposesakeevil Thus our democracy was from an early period the most aristocratic, and our aristocracy the most democratic. Thomas B. Macaulay aristocracydemocracyperiods The great cause of revolutions is this, that while nations move onward, constitutions stand still. Thomas B. Macaulay revolutioncausesmoving
