Parliamentary government is simply a mild and disguised form of compulsion. We agree to try strength by counting heads instead of breaking heads, but the principle is exactly the same... The minority gives way not because it is convinced that… — James Fitzjames Stephen Copy Share Image
Used with due abstinence, hope acts as a healthful tonic; intemperately indulged, as an enervating opiate. The visions of future triumph, which at first animate exertion, if dwelt upon too intently, will usurp the place of the stern reality; and, noble objects will be contemplated, not for their own inherent worth, but on account of the day-dreams they engender. Thus… — James Fitzjames Stephen Copy Share
The things which cannot be adequately represented by words are more important than those which can. — James Fitzjames Stephen Copy Share Image
Wisdom may be the ultimate arbiter, but is seldom the immediate agent in human affairs. — James Fitzjames Stephen Copy Share Image
Each must act as he thinks best; and if he is wrong, so much the worse for him. We stand on a mountain pass in the midst of whirling snow and blinding mist through which we get glimpses now and then of paths which may be deceptive. If we stand still we shall be frozen to death. If we take… — James Fitzjames Stephen Copy Share
Power and courtly influence form an intoxicating draught even when raised to the lips of an ascetic and a saint. — James Fitzjames Stephen Copy Share Image
Thus hope, aided by imagination, makes one man a hero, another a somnambulist, and a third a lunatic; while it renders them all enthusiasts. — James Fitzjames Stephen Copy Share Image
A well-judging man will open his trunk-line of study in such a direction that, while habitually adhering to it, he may enjoy a ready… — James Fitzjames Stephen Copy Share Image
A liberal conservative is a man who thinks things ought to progress but would rather they remained as they are. — James Fitzjames Stephen Copy Share Image
To me this question whether liberty is a good or a bad thing appears as irrational as the question whether fire is a good or a bad thing. It is both good and bad according to time, place, and circumstance, and a complete answer to the question, In what cases is liberty good and in what cases is it bad?… — James Fitzjames Stephen Copy Share
To try to regulate the internal affairs of a family, the relations of love or friendship, or many other things of the same sort,… — James Fitzjames Stephen Copy Share Image
“In all important transactions of life we have to take a leap in the dark… If we decide to leave the riddles unanswered, that is a choice; if we waver in our answer, that, too, is a choice: but whatever choice we make, we make it at our peril. If a man chooses to turn his back altogether on God… — James Fitzjames Stephen Copy Share
To try to make men equal by altering social arrangements is like trying to make the cards of equal value by shuffling the pack. — James Fitzjames Stephen Copy Share Image
