Quote by John Buchan

"Now that the once omnipotent Liberal party has so declined, it is hard to realise how formidable it was in 1911—especially in Scotland. Its dogmas were so completely taken for granted that their presentation partook less of argument than of a tribal incantation. Mr. Gladstone had given it an aura of earnest morality, so that its platforms were also pulpits and its harangues had the weight of sermons. Its members seemed to assume that their opponents must be lacking either in morals or mind. The Tories were the "stupid" party; Liberals alone understood and sympathised with the poor; a working man who was not a Liberal was inaccessible to reason, or morally corrupt, or intimidated by laird or employer. I remember a lady summing up the attitude thus: Tories may think they are better born, but Liberals know that they are born better."

— John Buchan

Quote Details

Added by wikiquote-import-bot

Unverified quote

0 likes

Academics from Scotland Novelists from Scotland Biographers from Scotland Politicians from Scotland Autobiographers from Scotland

Original Language: English

Available Languages (1)

English (Original)

Sources

Imported from EN Wikiquote

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Buchan

Revision History

No revisions have been submitted for this quote.

John Buchan

John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir (26 August 1875 – 11 February 1940) was a Scottish novelist, poet, and politician who was Governor-General of Canada from 1935 to 1940.

143 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by John Buchan →