Andrew Dickson White citations

Andrew Dickson White était un historien, homme politique, diplomate et professeur d’université américain.

À l’issue de brillantes études d’histoire à Yale, il accepta une chaire d’histoire à l’université du Michigan, puis, revenu dans sa région d’origine, se lança dans la politique et fut élu membre du sénat de l’État de New York. Il y eut pour collègue Ezra Cornell, riche homme d’affaires, en compagnie duquel, mettant à profit une nouvelle législation propice à la création de nouveaux établissements d'enseignement supérieur, il décida de fonder en 1865 une nouvelle université, l’université Cornell, où il occupa la chaire d’histoire et dont il devint le premier président.

En 1871, il requit un congé lorsque le président Grant fit appel à lui pour siéger dans une commission chargée d’examiner la faisabilité d’une annexion par les États-Unis de la République dominicaine, annexion dont ladite commission appuya l’idée dans son rapport. Il démissionna comme président de Cornell pour se vouer à sa carrière diplomatique, et remplit les fonctions d’ambassadeur des États-Unis en Russie et, par deux fois, en Allemagne, jusqu’en 1902 — élément de sa biographie qui explique sans doute ses prises de position en faveur de l’Allemagne dans les premiers mois de la Première Guerre mondiale.

Il fut l’auteur de nombreux ouvrages d’histoire, parmi lesquels se détache Histoire de la lutte entre la science et la théologie , où il interprète l’histoire de la chrétienté par une dialectique entre les pôles opposés de la religion révélée et de la science rationnelle. Ce livre eut, et garde encore, une grande influence sur le débat d’idées aux États-Unis. Est à signaler aussi la Crise financière française de 1789-1799, paru également en 1896, où il attribue l’échec de la Révolution française à une politique monétaire inflationniste selon lui dévastatrice. Wikipedia  

✵ 7. novembre 1832 – 4. novembre 1918
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Andrew Dickson White: 37   citations 0   J'aime

Andrew Dickson White: Citations en anglais

“The theologians who took up the work which the first reformers had laid down soon came to consider intolerance as a main evidence of spiritual life: erelong they were using all their powers in crushing every germ of new thought. Their theory was simply that the world had now reached its climax; that the religion of Luther was the final word of God to man; that everything depended upon keeping it absolutely pure”

Source: Seven Great Statesmen in the Warfare of Humanity with Unreason (1915), p. 114-115
Contexte: The theologians who took up the work which the first reformers had laid down soon came to consider intolerance as a main evidence of spiritual life: erelong they were using all their powers in crushing every germ of new thought. Their theory was simply that the world had now reached its climax; that the religion of Luther was the final word of God to man; that everything depended upon keeping it absolutely pure; that men might comment upon it in hundreds of pulpits and lecture rooms and in thousands of volumes;—but change it in the slightest particle—never. And in order that it might never be changed it was petrified into rituals and creeds and catechisms and statements, and, above all, in 1579, into the "Formula of Concord," which, as more than one thoughtful man has since declared, turned out to be a "formula of discord."

“Even before Melanchthon sank into his grave, he was dismayed at seeing Lutheranism stiffen into dogmas and formulas, and heartbroken by a persecution from his fellow-Protestants more bitter than anything he had ever experienced from Catholics.”

White here cites A. Harnack, Address Before the University of Berlin (1897), pp.16 and following
Source: Seven Great Statesmen in the Warfare of Humanity with Unreason (1915), p. 114

“Yet no one could apparently be more unlike those who were especially named as the French philosophers of the eighteenth century. He remained reverential; he was never blasphemous, never blatant; he was careful to avoid giving needless pain or arousing fruitless discussion; and, while the tendency of his whole thinking was evidently removing him from the orthodoxy of the Church, his was a broader and deeper philosophy than that which was then dominant.”

Source: Seven Great Statesmen in the Warfare of Humanity with Unreason (1915), p. 167
Contexte: The French philosophy of the eighteenth century was in full strength. Those were the years in which Voltaire ruled European opinion, and Turgot could not but take account of his influence. Yet no one could apparently be more unlike those who were especially named as the French philosophers of the eighteenth century. He remained reverential; he was never blasphemous, never blatant; he was careful to avoid giving needless pain or arousing fruitless discussion; and, while the tendency of his whole thinking was evidently removing him from the orthodoxy of the Church, his was a broader and deeper philosophy than that which was then dominant.

“Of all tyrannies of unreason in the modern world, one holds a supremely evil preeminence. It covered the period from the middle of the sixteenth century to the middle of the seventeenth”

Source: Seven Great Statesmen in the Warfare of Humanity with Unreason (1915), p. 55
Contexte: Of all tyrannies of unreason in the modern world, one holds a supremely evil preeminence. It covered the period from the middle of the sixteenth century to the middle of the seventeenth, and throughout those hundred years was waged a war of hatreds,—racial, religious, national, and personal;—of ambitions, ecclesiastical and civil;—of aspirations, patriotic and selfish;—of efforts, noble and vile. During all those weary generations Europe became one broad battlefield,—drenched in human blood and lighted from innumerable scaffolds. In this confused struggle great men appeared—heroes and martyrs, ruffians and scoundrels: all was anarchic. The dominant international gospel was that of Machiavelli.

“TURGOT…I present today one of the three greatest statesmen who fought unreason in France between the close of the Middle Ages and the outbreak of the French Revolution—Louis XI and Richelieu being the two other.”

Source: Seven Great Statesmen in the Warfare of Humanity with Unreason (1915), p. 165
Contexte: TURGOT... I present today one of the three greatest statesmen who fought unreason in France between the close of the Middle Ages and the outbreak of the French Revolution—Louis XI and Richelieu being the two other. And not only this: were you to count the greatest men of the modern world upon your fingers, he would be of the number—a great thinker, writer, administrator, philanthropist, statesman, and above all, a great character and a great man. And yet, judged by ordinary standards, a failure. For he was thrown out of his culminating position, as Comptroller-General of France, after serving but twenty months, and then lived only long enough to see every leading measure to which he had devoted his life deliberately and malignantly undone; the flagrant abuses which he had abolished restored, apparently forever; the highways to national prosperity, peace, and influence, which he had opened, destroyed; and his country put under full headway toward the greatest catastrophe the modern world has seen.

“The dominant international gospel was that of Machiavelli.”

Source: Seven Great Statesmen in the Warfare of Humanity with Unreason (1915), p. 55
Contexte: Of all tyrannies of unreason in the modern world, one holds a supremely evil preeminence. It covered the period from the middle of the sixteenth century to the middle of the seventeenth, and throughout those hundred years was waged a war of hatreds,—racial, religious, national, and personal;—of ambitions, ecclesiastical and civil;—of aspirations, patriotic and selfish;—of efforts, noble and vile. During all those weary generations Europe became one broad battlefield,—drenched in human blood and lighted from innumerable scaffolds. In this confused struggle great men appeared—heroes and martyrs, ruffians and scoundrels: all was anarchic. The dominant international gospel was that of Machiavelli.

“The French philosophy of the eighteenth century was in full strength. Those were the years in which Voltaire ruled European opinion”

Source: Seven Great Statesmen in the Warfare of Humanity with Unreason (1915), p. 167
Contexte: The French philosophy of the eighteenth century was in full strength. Those were the years in which Voltaire ruled European opinion, and Turgot could not but take account of his influence. Yet no one could apparently be more unlike those who were especially named as the French philosophers of the eighteenth century. He remained reverential; he was never blasphemous, never blatant; he was careful to avoid giving needless pain or arousing fruitless discussion; and, while the tendency of his whole thinking was evidently removing him from the orthodoxy of the Church, his was a broader and deeper philosophy than that which was then dominant.

“The work of this young professor”

Source: Seven Great Statesmen in the Warfare of Humanity with Unreason (1915), p. 114
Contexte: The work of this young professor (Thomasius) and his disciples was to dethrone the heavy Protestant orthodoxy which had nearly smothered German patriotism, to undermine the pedantry which had paralyzed German scholarship, to substitute thought for formulas, to bring right reason to bear upon international and municipal law, to discredit religious intolerance, to root out witchcraft persecution and procedure by torture from all modern codes, and to begin that emancipation, of public and especially university instruction from theological control, which has given such strength to Germany, and which today is invincibly making its way in all other lands, including our own.

“When bullying was needed it was generally understood that he could do it con amore.”

Source: Autobiography of Andrew Dickson White, Vol. 2 (1922), p. 13
Contexte: The British ambassador was Sir Robert Morier. He too was a strong character, though lacking apparently in some of General [der Infanterie] von Schweinitz's more kindly qualities. He was big, roughish, and at times so brusque that he might almost be called brutal. When bullying was needed it was generally understood that he could do it con amore.

“The British ambassador was Sir Robert Morier.”

Source: Autobiography of Andrew Dickson White, Vol. 2 (1922), p. 13
Contexte: The British ambassador was Sir Robert Morier. He too was a strong character, though lacking apparently in some of General [der Infanterie] von Schweinitz's more kindly qualities. He was big, roughish, and at times so brusque that he might almost be called brutal. When bullying was needed it was generally understood that he could do it con amore.

“It still remains one of the best presentations of this subject ever made; and what adds to our wonder is that it was not the result of a study of authorities, but was worked out wholly from his own observation and thought. Up to this time there were no authorities and no received doctrine on the subject; there were simply records of financial practice more or less vicious; it was reserved for this young student, in a letter not intended for publication, to lay down for the first time the great law in which the modern world, after all its puzzling and costly experiences, has found safety.”

Source: Seven Great Statesmen in the Warfare of Humanity with Unreason (1915), p. 170-171
Contexte: Turgot's attempt... showed how the results that had followed Law's issues of paper money must follow all such issues. As regards currency inflation, Turgot saw that the issue of paper money beyond the point where it is convertible into coin is the beginning of disaster—that a standard of value must have value, just as a standard of length must have length, or a standard of capacity, capacity, or a standard of weight, weight. He showed that if a larger amount of the circulating medium is issued than is called for by the business of the country, it will begin to be discredited, and that paper, if its issue be not controlled by its relation to some real standard of value, inevitably depreciates no matter what stamp it bears. Turgot developed his argument [on currency inflation] with a depth, strength, clearness, and breadth, which have amazed every dispassionate reader from that day to this. It still remains one of the best presentations of this subject ever made; and what adds to our wonder is that it was not the result of a study of authorities, but was worked out wholly from his own observation and thought. Up to this time there were no authorities and no received doctrine on the subject; there were simply records of financial practice more or less vicious; it was reserved for this young student, in a letter not intended for publication, to lay down for the first time the great law in which the modern world, after all its puzzling and costly experiences, has found safety.

“He steered clear of the quicksands of useless scholarship, which had engulfed so many strong men of his time. The zeal of learned men in that period was largely given to knowing things not worth knowing, to discussing things not worth discussing, to proving things not worth proving.”

Source: Seven Great Statesmen in the Warfare of Humanity with Unreason (1915), p. 59
Contexte: He [Grotius] avoided another danger as serious as his precocity had been. He steered clear of the quicksands of useless scholarship, which had engulfed so many strong men of his time. The zeal of learned men in that period was largely given to knowing things not worth knowing, to discussing things not worth discussing, to proving things not worth proving. Grotius seemed plunging on, with all sails set, into these quicksands; but again his good sense and sober judgment saved him: he decided to bring himself into the current of active life flowing through his land and time, and with this purpose he gave himself to the broad and thorough study of jurisprudence.

“As regards currency inflation, Turgot saw that”

Source: Seven Great Statesmen in the Warfare of Humanity with Unreason (1915), p. 170-171
Contexte: Turgot's attempt... showed how the results that had followed Law's issues of paper money must follow all such issues. As regards currency inflation, Turgot saw that the issue of paper money beyond the point where it is convertible into coin is the beginning of disaster—that a standard of value must have value, just as a standard of length must have length, or a standard of capacity, capacity, or a standard of weight, weight. He showed that if a larger amount of the circulating medium is issued than is called for by the business of the country, it will begin to be discredited, and that paper, if its issue be not controlled by its relation to some real standard of value, inevitably depreciates no matter what stamp it bears. Turgot developed his argument [on currency inflation] with a depth, strength, clearness, and breadth, which have amazed every dispassionate reader from that day to this. It still remains one of the best presentations of this subject ever made; and what adds to our wonder is that it was not the result of a study of authorities, but was worked out wholly from his own observation and thought. Up to this time there were no authorities and no received doctrine on the subject; there were simply records of financial practice more or less vicious; it was reserved for this young student, in a letter not intended for publication, to lay down for the first time the great law in which the modern world, after all its puzzling and costly experiences, has found safety.

“Europe became one broad battlefield,—drenched in human blood and lighted from innumerable scaffolds.”

Source: Seven Great Statesmen in the Warfare of Humanity with Unreason (1915), p. 55
Contexte: Of all tyrannies of unreason in the modern world, one holds a supremely evil preeminence. It covered the period from the middle of the sixteenth century to the middle of the seventeenth, and throughout those hundred years was waged a war of hatreds,—racial, religious, national, and personal;—of ambitions, ecclesiastical and civil;—of aspirations, patriotic and selfish;—of efforts, noble and vile. During all those weary generations Europe became one broad battlefield,—drenched in human blood and lighted from innumerable scaffolds. In this confused struggle great men appeared—heroes and martyrs, ruffians and scoundrels: all was anarchic. The dominant international gospel was that of Machiavelli.

“Refusing to heed his argument the French people had again to be punished”

Footnote - For a short account of the Assignats and Mandats of the French Revolution, see Fiat Money Inflation in France, How it Came, What it Brought, and How it Ended http://books.google.com/books?id=HrpIAAAAYAAJ& by Andrew D. White (New York: D. Appleton & Co. 1896).
p. 171
Seven Great Statesmen in the Warfare of Humanity with Unreason (1915)
Contexte: Refusing to heed his argument the French people had again to be punished more severely than in John Law's time: the over-issue of assignats and mandats during the Revolution came forty years after his warning; and paper money inflation was again paid for by widespread bankruptcy and ruin.

“I have constantly had in mind the average man intelligently interested in political affairs.”

Source: Seven Great Statesmen in the Warfare of Humanity with Unreason (1915), p.x
Contexte: While I have given references which will enable historical students to verify my statements and follow them further, I have constantly had in mind the average man intelligently interested in political affairs. It is for this reason that to each of these personages is given a somewhat extended historical setting which may enable any reader to understand his environment, the men and things with which he contended, and the results which he sought and accomplished.

“Into the very midst of all this welter of evil, at a point in time to all appearance hopeless, at a point in space apparently defenseless, in a nation of which every man, woman, and child was under sentence of death from its sovereign, was born a man who wrought as no other has ever done for a redemption of civilization from the main cause of all that misery; who thought out for Europe the precepts of right reason in international law; who made them heard; who gave a noble change to the course of human affairs; whose thoughts, reasonings, suggestions, and appeals produced an environment in which came an evolution of humanity that still continues.”

Source: Seven Great Statesmen in the Warfare of Humanity with Unreason (1915), p. 55-56
Contexte: Into the very midst of all this welter of evil, at a point in time to all appearance hopeless, at a point in space apparently defenseless, in a nation of which every man, woman, and child was under sentence of death from its sovereign, was born a man who wrought as no other has ever done for a redemption of civilization from the main cause of all that misery; who thought out for Europe the precepts of right reason in international law; who made them heard; who gave a noble change to the course of human affairs; whose thoughts, reasonings, suggestions, and appeals produced an environment in which came an evolution of humanity that still continues. Huig de Groot, afterward known to the world as Hugo Grotius was born at Delft in Holland on Easter day of 1583. It was at the crisis of the struggle between Spain and the Netherlands. That struggle had already continued for twenty years, and just after the close of his first year, in the very town where he was lying in his cradle, came its most fearful event, that which maddened both sides—the assassination of William of Orange, nominally by Balthazar Gerard, really by Philip II of Spain.

“For similar folly, our own country, in the transition from the colonial period, also paid a fearful price; and from a like catastrophe the United States has been twice saved in our time by the arguments formulated by Turgot.”

Footnote - The very remarkable speeches of Mr. Garfield, afterward President of the United States, which had so great an influence on the settlement of the inflation question throughout the Union, were on the main lines laid down in Turgot's letter
Source: Seven Great Statesmen in the Warfare of Humanity with Unreason (1915), p. 171

“He [Paolo Sarpi] was one of the two foremost Italian statesmen since the Middle Ages, the other being Cavour.”

Source: Seven Great Statesmen in the Warfare of Humanity with Unreason (1915), p. 3

“Carlyle uttered a pregnant truth when he said that the history of any country is in the biographies of the men who made it.”

Source: Seven Great Statesmen in the Warfare of Humanity with Unreason (1915), p. ix

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