Political Quotes

Walter Bagehot: Such subsidiary sciences are to the decipherer of the present day what old languages were to the antiquary of other…

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Such subsidiary sciences are to the decipherer of the present day what old languages were to the antiquary of other days; they construe for him the words which he discovers, they give a richness and a truth-like complexity to the picture which he paints, even in cases where the particular detail they tell is not much.
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Walter Bagehot

Editor's note · Context

Bagehot compares modern subsidiary sciences to ancient languages, emphasizing their role in understanding the present.

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