"The war of the Americans is a war of passion; it is of such a nature as to be supported by the most powerful virtues, love of liberty and of country, and at the same time by those passions in the human heart which give courage, strength, and perseverance to man; the spirit of revenge for the injuries you have done them, of retaliation for the hardships inflicted on them, and of opposition to the unjust powers you would have exercised over them; every thing combines to animate them to this war, and such a war is without end; for whatever obstinacy enthusiasm ever inspired man with, you will now have to contend with in America: no matter what gives birth to that enthusiasm, whether the name of religion or of liberty, the effects are the same; it inspires a spirit that is unconquerable, and solicitous to undergo difficulties and dangers; and as long as there is a man in America, so long will you have him against you in the field."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
AbolitionistsMembers of the Parliament of Great BritainPeople from LondonWhig (British political party) politiciansSecretaries of State for Foreign Affairs of Great Britain and the United Kingdom
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Speech in the House of Commons (26 November 1778), quoted in The Speeches of the Right Honourable Charles James Fox, in the House of Commons. Vol. I (1815), p. 137
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_James_Fox
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Charles James Fox
1749 – 1806
englischer Staatsmann und Rhetoriker
99 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Charles James Fox →
Related Quotes
"What is that fat gentleman in such a passion about?"
"On speaking to Mr. Fox (who had just received the seals as Secretary of State) on the important event of the day, he …"
"Gentlemen, the malicious and groundless Reports which have been spread, make it necessary for me to assure you, that …"
"...against which we should direct all our force, the navy of France: in the destruction of her marine we might see so…"
"There is no man who hates the power of the crown more, or who has a worse opinion of the Person to whom it belongs th…"
"[T]he question now was, whether the British constitution, "that beautiful fabric, raised by the steadiness of our anc…"
"Kings, Sir, govern by means of popular assemblies, only because they cannot do without them; to suppose a king fond o…"
"It is intolerable that it should be in the power of one blockhead to do so much mischief."
"[H]e thought one of the most splendid triumphs of Christianity was, its having caused slavery to be so generally abol…"
"[Fox] exhibited two pictures of this country; the one representing her at the end of the last glorious war, the other…"