On the record
As in politics it would lose its principal use if it came forward into the public arena, so in society if it advertised itself it would be pernicious.
Said by
Walter Bagehot
Source
gutenberg.orgWalter Bagehot: “As in politics it would lose its principal use if it came forward into the public arena, so in society if it advertised…”
Editor's note · Context
Bagehot argues that the monarchy should remain discreet in its public presence to maintain its societal role.
Share
More from Walter Bagehot
These anomalies, in a hundred instances, mark the old boundaries of a constitutional struggle.
I own that I do not entirely sympathise with the horror of these anomalies which haunts some of our best critics.
Just so the lines of our Constitution were framed in old eras of sparse population, few wants, and simple habits; and we adhere in seeming to their shape, though civilisation has come with its dangers, complications, and enjoyments.
Subject to this saving remark, however, I not only admit, but maintain, that our Constitution is full of curious oddities, which are impeding and mischievous, and ought to be struck out.
Other voices in this conversation
