Thomas Babington Macaulay
Thomas Babington Macaulay
Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay, PCwas a British historian and Whig politician. He wrote extensively as an essayist and reviewer; his books on British history have been hailed as literary masterpieces. He was a member of the Babington family by virtue of his aunt's marriage to Thomas Babington...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionPoet
Date of Birth25 August 1800
perhaps
Perhaps no person can be a poet, or even enjoy poetry, without a certain unsoundness of mind.
commit conduct doctrine doctrines foolish infer man nature persons punish
To punish a man because we infer from the nature of some doctrine which he holds, or from the conduct of other persons who hold the same doctrines with him, that he will commit a crime, is persecution, and is, in every case, foolish and wicked.
birth drink government meddling people tells
Nothing is so galling to a people not broken in from the birth as a paternal, or, in other words, a meddling government, a government which tells them what to read, and say, and eat, and drink and wear.
authority failure hands ignorant places poorest supreme
American democracy must be a failure because it places the supreme authority in the hands of the poorest and most ignorant part of the society.
produced
Persecution produced its natural effect on them. It found them a sect; it made them a faction.
packing
He had a wonderful talent for packing thought close, and rendering it portable.
boundless highest possess power proof virtue
The highest proof of virtue is to possess boundless power without abusing it.