“Many politicians of our time are in the habit of laying it down as a self-evident proposition, that no people ought to be free till they are fit to use their freedom. The maxim is worthy of the fool in the old story, who resolved not to go into the water till he had learned to swim. If men are to wait for liberty till they become wise and good in slavery, they may indeed have to wait forever.”

Critical and Historical Essays: Volume II (London: J. M. Dent and Sons, 1907), p. 180
On Milton (1825)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Many politicians of our time are in the habit of laying it down as a self-evident proposition, that no people ought to …" by Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay?
Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay photo
Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay 101
British historian and Whig politician 1800–1859

Related quotes

Bertolt Brecht photo

“You may proclaim, good sirs, your fine philosophy
But till you feed us, right and wrong can wait!”

Macheath in "Second Threepenny-Finale"; Act 2, scene 3, p. 67
Variant translations:
However much you twist, whatever lies you tell
Food is the first thing, morals follow on.
Used by the Pet Shop Boys, in "What Keeps Mankind Alive?", Can You Forgive Her (1993 EP)
Food first, then morality.
The Threepenny Opera (1928)

Hunter S. Thompson photo

“Poor bastard. Wait 'till he sees the bats.”

Hunter S. Thompson (1937–2005) American journalist and author
Tori Amos photo

“So she prays for a prankster and lust in the marriage bed
And he waits till she can give
And he waits and he waits.”

Tori Amos (1963) American singer

Lust, a song on a couple's healing after trauma.
Songs

Arthur Conan Doyle photo

“One must wait till it comes.”

Source: The Lost World

Robert Jordan photo

“Once you decide to gut a fish, there’s no use waiting till it rots.”

Robert Jordan (1948–2007) American writer

Siuan Sanche
(15 October 1991)

George Walter Thornbury photo

“The fool that eats till he is sick must fast till he is well.”

George Walter Thornbury (1828–1876) British writer

The Jester’s Sermon.

Markus Zusak photo
Dadabhai Naoroji photo

Related topics