Altogether the Liberals, or at least the extreme Liberals, were much like a man who has been pushing hard against an opposing door, till, on a sudden, the door opens, the resistance ceases, and he is thrown violently forward.
Bagehot uses a metaphor to illustrate the sudden and overwhelming change experienced by extreme Liberals with the Reform Bill.
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Savages waste away before modern civilisation; they seem to have held their ground before the ancient.
Now it is not conceivable that a race of beings with valuable instincts supporting their existence and supplying their wants would need these simple tools.
No doubt this momentary gain is bought at a ruinous after-cost.
All savage religions are full of superstitions founded on luck.
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