Twenty years hence, when men inquire as to the then fading memory of Palmerston, we shall be able to point to no great truth which he taught, no great distinct policy which he embodied, no noble words which once fascinated his age, and which, in after years, men would not willingly let die.
Bagehot reflects on the lack of significant contributions from Palmerston to political thought.
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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.
The lessons are good where its primitive assumptions hold, but may be false where those assumptions fail.
I cannot, therefore, join in the full cry against anomalies; in my judgment it may quickly overrun the scent, and so miss what we should be glad to find.
These anomalies, in a hundred instances, mark the old boundaries of a constitutional struggle.
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