In 1789, when the great men of the Constituent Assembly looked on the long past, they hardly saw anything in it which could be praised, or admired, or imitated: all seemed a blunder--a complex error to be got rid of as soon as might be.
Bagehot reflects on the pessimistic view of the past held by the leaders of the 1789 Constituent Assembly.
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Political philosophy is still more imperfect; it has been framed from observations taken upon regular specimens of politics and States; as to these its teaching is most valuable.
I cannot, therefore, join in the full cry against anomalies; in my judgment it may quickly overrun the scent, and so miss what we should be glad to find.
But it is natural also that persons used to analyse political institutions should look at these anomalies with a little tenderness and a little interest.
I own that I do not entirely sympathise with the horror of these anomalies which haunts some of our best critics.
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