"There was a re-birth of public spirit. Gentlemen ceased to take bribes. Justice became incorruptible... It has been observed that up to about 1820 the laws passed by Parliament had almost all been for the protection of the privileged few against the many; after that time they are predominantly for the protection of the nation as a whole against abuse and privilege. Instead of the ferocious defence of property, a spirit of sympathy and help to the oppressed begins to inspire legislation. The old revolutionary doctrine of the infinite perfectibility of mankind, which had set on fire the enthusiasm of Godwin, Shelley and Condorcet, passed in a milder and more reasonable form into the general imagination of the age."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Victorian era
35 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Victorian era →
Related Quotes
"In Victorian times business was seen as a romance and books by the score portrayed the lives of entrepreneurs both as…"
"It is in the connection of the conflict with the Yankee...that we can perhaps best understand the South's unusual pro…"
"The colonisation of Australia and New Zealand, and the acquisition of South Africa in the decline of Holland, created…"
"During the last half of the 19th century there was a marked fall in the crime rate with a substantial decrease in bot…"
"British rates of recorded crime fell as markedly in the latter part of the 19th century as they have risen since. The…"
"[A]n earlier generation of Britons succeeded in changing the character of their people and producing a diminution in …"
"The postulate that there was a link of some kind between the rise of the Sunday school and the original decline of de…"
"Take another look at the graph showing illegitimacy from the 1500s up to the present, and focus on the period from 18…"
"No one will ever understand Victorian England who does not appreciate that among highly civilized...countries it was …"
"One thing that strikes me when I think of Booth is the nonsense that is talked today about the poverty of the Victori…"