On the record
No doubt the brute force of number may be too potent even then (as so often it is afterwards): civilisation may be thrown back by the conquest of many very rude men over a few less rude men.
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Walter Bagehot
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gutenberg.orgWalter Bagehot: “No doubt the brute force of number may be too potent even then (as so often it is afterwards): civilisation may be…”
Editor's note · Context
Bagehot warns that sheer numbers can sometimes undermine civilization, even in early conflicts.
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More from Walter Bagehot
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.
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.
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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