“To attend a place of worship, to abstain from spirits, to read a serious newspaper and put money in the savings bank, was in 1840 as good an ideal as could be set before a man. To pursue it gave him rank as a citizen, the promise of a vote, and a share in a solid civilization.”
Portrait of an Age (1936)
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G. M. Young6
English historian 1882–1959Related quotes
R. Venkataraman (1910–2009) seventh Vice-President of India and the 8th President of India
Gopalkrishna Gandhi in: The value of decency http://hindu.com/2010/12/04/stories/2010120462451500.htm, The Hindu, 4 December 2010
John William Lloyd (1857–1940) American anarchist, sexologist, utopian theorist and author (1857-1940)
Source: The Natural Man (1902), p. 100
Winston S. Churchill (1874–1965) Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
“Why I am a Free Trader,” Chapter I in T.W. Stead’s journal Coming Men on Coming Questions (April 13, 1905), bottom p. 9.
Early career years (1898–1929)
“Half the American people never read a newspaper. Half never vote for President — the same half?”
Gore Vidal (1925–2012) American writer
Sometimes quoted as: Half of the American people never read a newspaper. Half never voted for president. One hopes it is the same half.
[Bill, Maxwell, http://www.sptimes.com/2002/07/07/Columns/In_gloomy_times__let_.shtml, In gloomy times, let's try to find a sense of humor, St. Petersberg Times, 2002-07-07, 2008-10-04]
Variant: Half of the American people have never read a newspaper. Half never voted for President. One hopes it is the same half.
Source: 1990s, Screening History (1992), Ch. 1: The Prince and the Pauper, p. 5
Barack Obama (1961) 44th President of the United States of America
2013, Second Inaugural Address (January 2013)
Context: My fellow Americans, the oath I have sworn before you today, like the one recited by others who serve in this Capitol, was an oath to God and country, not party or faction. And we must faithfully execute that pledge during the duration of our service. But the words I spoke today are not so different from the oath that is taken each time a soldier signs up for duty or an immigrant realizes her dream. My oath is not so different from the pledge we all make to the flag that waves above and that fills our hearts with pride. They are the words of citizens and they represent our greatest hope. You and I, as citizens, have the power to set this country’s course. You and I, as citizens, have the obligation to shape the debates of our time -- not only with the votes we cast, but with the voices we lift in defense of our most ancient values and enduring ideals.
Thomas Paine (1737–1809) English and American political activist
An Essay on the Origin of Free-Masonry (1803-1805); found in manuscript form after Paine's death and thought to have been written for an intended part III of The Age of Reason. It was partially published in 1810 and published in its entirety in 1818.
1800s