Walter Bagehot Quotes
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In every particular state of the world, those nations which are strongest tend to prevail over the others; and in certain marked peculiarities the strongest tend to be the best.
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The real essence of work is concentrated energy.
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One of the greatest pains to human nature is the pain of a new idea.
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Nations touch at their summits.
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The reason why so few good books are written is that so few people who can write know anything.
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The being without an opinion is so painful to human nature that most people will leap to a hasty opinion rather than undergo it.
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The habit of common and continuous speech is a symptom of mental deficiency. It proceeds from not knowing what is going on in other people's minds.
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A constitutional statesman is in general a man of common opinions and uncommon abilities.
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Credit means that a certain confidence is given, and a certain trust reposed. Is that trust justified? and is that confidence wise? These are the cardinal questions. To put it more simply credit is a set of promises to pay; will those promises be kept?
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Conquest is the missionary of valor, and the hard impact of military virtues beats meanness out of the world.
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All the best stories in the world are but one story in reality - the story of escape. It is the only thing which interests us all and at all times, how to escape.
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Honor sinks where commerce long prevails.
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The Sovereign has, under a constitutional monarchy such as ours, three rights-the right to be consulted, the right to encourage, the right to warn.
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A schoolmaster should have an atmosphere of awe, and walk wonderingly, as if he was amazed at being himself.
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A Parliament is nothing less than a big meeting of more or less idle people.
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Men who do not make advances to women are apt to become victims to women who make advances to them.
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It is good to be without vices, but it is not good to be without temptations.
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The caucus is a sort of representative meeting which sits voting and voting till they have cut out all the known men against whom much is to be said, and agreed on some unknown man against whom there is nothing known, and therefore nothing to be alleged.
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The greatest mistake is trying to be more agreeable than you can be.
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No real English gentleman, in his secret soul, was ever sorry for the death of a political economist.
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Most men of business think 'Anyhow this system will probably last my time. It has gone on a long time, and is likely to go on still.'
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The purse strings tie us to our kind.
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The best history is but like the art of Rembrandt; it casts a vivid light on certain selected causes, on those which were best and greatest; it leaves all the rest in shadow and unseen.
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Of Guizot A Puritan born in France by mistake.