William Gladstone
British Liberal prime minister (1809–1898)
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William Ewart Gladstone (December 29, 1809 – May 19, 1898) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to Queen Victoria four times during the 19th century. He was a Liberal, and served from from 1868–1874; 1880–1885; 1886; and 1892–1894. He was a famous rival of Benjamin Disraeli, the Conservative Prime Minister.
Sourced quotes
- "Ireland, Ireland! that cloud in the west, that coming storm."[1]
- About the quote: Letter to his wife, Catherine Gladstone, 12 October 1845.
- "This is the negation of God erected into a system of Government."[2]
- Simple: This is the denial of God built into a system of Government.
- About the quote: A Letter to the Earl of Aberdeen on the State Prosecutions of the Neapolitan Government, 1851.
- "Finance is, as it were, the stomach of the country, from which all the other organs take their tone."[3]
- Simple: Money is, as it were, the centre of the country, from which all other organs take their tone.
- About the quote: In an article on Finance, 1858.
- "At last, my friends, I am come among you ‘unmuzzled’."[4]
- Simple: At last my friends, I have come to you 'unmuzzled'
- About the quote: In a speech to support his bid to Parliament, in the seat of South Lancashire, 18 July 1865.
- "You cannot fight against the future. Time is on our side."[1]
- What it means: You cannot fight against what is going to happen. Time is with us.
- About the quote: Speech, to the House of Commons, on the Reform Bill, 27 April 1866.
- "My mission is to pacify Ireland."[2]
- Simple: My aim is to make Ireland peaceful.
- About the quote: Hearing the news that he was now Prime Minister, 1 December 1868.
- "Swimming for his life, a man does not see much of the country through which the river winds."[1]
- Simple: Swimming to stay alive, a man does not see much of the country through which the river flows.
- About the quote: Written in his diary, 31 December 1868.
- "[An] established Clergy will always be a Tory Corps d'Armée."[1]
- Simple: An stable group of churchmen will always be a Tory army.
- About the quote: Letter, 8 September 1881.
- "It is perfectly true that these gentlemen wish to march through rapine to disintegration and dismemberment of the Empire, and, I am sorry to say, even to the placing of different parts of the Empire in direct hostility one with the other."[1]
- Simple: It is really true that these men wish to march through plunder to breakdown and dismemberment of the [British] Empire, and, I am sorry to say, even to the placing of different parts of the Empire in direct aggression with one another.
- About the quote: On the Irish Land League.
- "There never was a Churchill from John of Marlborough down that had either morals or principles."[1]
- What it means: There was never a member of the Churchill family, from John of Marlborough down, who had morals or principles.
- About the quote: Spoken in conversation, 1882; probably about Lord Randolph Churchill, father of Winston Churchill.
- "This, if I understand it, is one of those golden moments of our history, one of those opportunities which may come and may go, but which rarely returns."[5]
- Simple: This, if I understand it, is one of those golden moments in our history, one of those occasions which may come and may go, but which does not often return.
- About the quote: Speech to the House of Commons after the Second Reading of the Home Rule Bill, 7 June 1886.
- "One prayer absorbs all others: Ireland, Ireland, Ireland."[1]
- Simple: One prayer soaks all others: Ireland, Ireland, Ireland.
- About the quote: Written in his diary, 10 April 1887.
- "The blubbering Cabinet."[2]
- Simple: The crying Cabinet.
- About the quote: Written his diary, 1 March 1894. Gladstone chaired the last of his 554 Cabinet meetings on this day, and the Cabinet wept at his resignation.
- "What that Sicilian mule was to me, I have been to the Queen."[1]
- Simple: What that Sicilian mule was to me, I have been to the Queen.
- About the quote: Written about a mule on which Gladstone rode, which he "could neither love nor like", although it had rendered him "much valuable service". Queen Victoria was not fond of Gladstone.[2]
- "The God-fearing and God-sustaining University of Oxford. I served her, perhaps mistakenly, but to the best of my ability."[1]
- Simple: The God-fearing and God-keeping University of Oxford. I served her, perhaps with mistakes, but to the best of my skill.
- About the quote: Farewell message, shortly before his death, May 1898.
- "I absorb the vapour and return it as a flood."[1]
- Simple: I take in the vapour and return it as a flood.
- About the quote: Speaking about public speaking.
Notes
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 "Gladstone, W. E." The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations. Ed. Elizabeth Knowles. Oxford University Press, 2004. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Accessed on 11 December 2008
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Matthew, H. C. G., ‘Gladstone, William Ewart (1809–1898)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, May 2008 accessed 11 Dec 2008
- ↑ Matthew, Gladstone, 1991, p. 113
- ↑ Morley, p. 146
- ↑ Gladston/Clayden, p. 165
References
- "Gladstone, W. E." The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations. Ed. Elizabeth Knowles. Oxford University Press, 2004. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Accessed on 11 December 2008
- Gladstone, W. E. [ed. P. W. Clayden], Speeches on the Irish question in 1886. Andrew Elliot, 1886.
- Matthew, H. C. G., Gladstone. Clarendon Press; Oxford University Press, 1991. ISBN 0198229097
- Matthew, H. C. G., ‘Gladstone, William Ewart (1809–1898)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, May 2008 accessed 11 Dec 2008
- Morley, John, The Life of William Ewart Gladstone (Volume 2). London: MacMollan Company, 1903.
