On the record
But in early times Providence 'set apart the nations;' and it is not till the frame of their morals is set by long ages of transmitted discipline, that such enlargement can be borne.
Said by
Walter Bagehot
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gutenberg.orgWalter Bagehot: “But in early times Providence 'set apart the nations;' and it is not till the frame of their morals is set by long ages…”
Editor's note · Context
Bagehot reflects on how historical isolation prepared nations for future interactions.
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More from Walter Bagehot
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.
It is natural that those who by special and admirable culture have come to look at all things upon the artistic side, should start back from these queer peculiarities.
Our law very often reminds one of those outskirts of cities where you cannot for a long time tell how the streets come to wind about in so capricious and serpent-like a manner.
At last it strikes you that they grew up, house by house, on the devious tracks of the old green lanes; and if you follow on to the existing fields, you may often find the change half complete.
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