We must judge a government by its general tendencies and not by its happy accidents. Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay More Quotes by Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay More Quotes From Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay A church is disaffected when it is persecuted, quiet when it is tolerated, and actively loyal when it is favored and cherished. Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay A few more days, and this essay will follow the Defensio Populi to the dust and silence of the upper shelf... For a month or two it will occupy a few minutes of chat in every drawing-room, and a few columns in every magazine; and it will then be withdrawn, to make room for the forthcoming novelties. Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay Language, the machine of the poet, is best fitted for his purpose in its rudest state. Nations, like individuals, first perceive, and then abstract. They advance from particular images to general terms. Hence the vocabulary of an enlightened society is philosophical, that of a half-civilized people is poetical. Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay Logicians may reason about abstractions. But the great mass of men must have images. The strong tendency of the multitude in all ages and nations to idolatry can be explained on no other principle. Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay She thoroughly understands what no other Church has ever understood, how to deal with enthusiasts. Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay Time advances: facts accumulate; doubts arise. Faint glimpses of truth begin to appear, and shine more and more unto the perfect day. The highest intellects, like the tops of mountains, are the first to catch and to reflect the dawn. They are bright, while the level below is still in darkness. But soon the light, which at first illuminated only the loftiest eminences, descends on the plain, and penetrates to the deepest valley. First come hints, then fragments of systems, then defective systems, then complete and harmonious systems. The sound opinion, held for a time by one bold speculator, becomes the opinion of a small minority, of a strong minority, of a majority of mankind. Thus, the great progress goes on. Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay Turn where we may, within, around, the voice of great events is proclaiming to us, Reform, that you may preserve! Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay Your Constitution is all sail and no anchor. Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay
