On the record
Perhaps such powers as these are what a wise man would most seek to exercise and least fear to possess.
Said by
Walter Bagehot
Source
gutenberg.orgPerhaps such powers as these are what a wise man would most seek to exercise and least fear to possess.
Bagehot reflects on the nature of power and the wisdom in exercising it judiciously.
Share
More from Walter Bagehot
The work would be done so well that we should not want any one to look over or revise it.
The United States could not have become monarchical, even if the Constitutional Convention had decreed it, even if the component States had ratified it.
They are solely concerned with his attractiveness as a candidate; they need not regard his efficiency as a ruler.
And again, in political matters, how quickly a leading statesman can change the tone of the community!