On the record
It is the dull traditional habit of mankind that guides most men's actions, and is the steady frame in which each new artist must set the picture that he paints.
Said by
Walter Bagehot
Source
gutenberg.orgWalter Bagehot: “It is the dull traditional habit of mankind that guides most men's actions, and is the steady frame in which each new…”
Editor's note · Context
Bagehot reflects on the influence of traditional habits on human behavior and creativity.
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Perhaps such powers as these are what a wise man would most seek to exercise and least fear to possess.
He gave an excellent moral example to his contemporaries, but he is an instance of those whose good dies with them, while their evil lives after them.
They are solely concerned with his attractiveness as a candidate; they need not regard his efficiency as a ruler.
The work would be done so well that we should not want any one to look over or revise it.
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