On the record
But they do not excite the speculative intellect, do not lead men to argue speculative doctrines, or to question ancient principles.
Said by
Walter Bagehot
Source
gutenberg.orgWalter Bagehot: “But they do not excite the speculative intellect, do not lead men to argue speculative doctrines, or to question ancient…”
Editor's note · Context
Bagehot points out that while discussions can be vigorous, they often do not challenge deeper intellectual ideas.
Share
More from Walter Bagehot
These anomalies, in a hundred instances, mark the old boundaries of a constitutional struggle.
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.
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.
The lessons are good where its primitive assumptions hold, but may be false where those assumptions fail.
Other voices in this conversation
