William Ewart Gladstone Quotes

“Good laws make it easier to do right and harder to do wrong.”

“Here is my first principle of foreign policy: good government at home.”

“We look forward to the time when the Power of Love will replace the Love of Power. Then will our world know the blessings of peace.”

“We all have our alloted portions of black and white paint”

“Caring means cultivating the skills of an active listener. That is easier said than done, as an anecdote about the extraordinary social skills of British politicianBenjamin Disraeli and his rival William Gladstone illustrates ... The rivalry between the two statesmen piqued the curiosity of American Jennie Jerome, admired beauty and the mother of Winston Churchill. Ms. Jerome arranged to dine with Gladstone and then with Disraeli, on consecutive evenings. Afterward, she described the difference between the two men this way: "When I left the dining room after sitting next to Gladstone, I thought he was the cleverest man in England. But when I sat next to Disraeli, I left feeling that I was the cleverest woman.”

“It really is more natural to believe a preternatural story, that deals with things we don’t understand, than a natural story that contradicts things we do understand. Tell me that the great Mr Gladstone, in his last hours, was haunted by the ghost of Parnell, and I will be agnostic about it. But tell me that Mr Gladstone, when first presented to Queen Victoria, wore his hat in her drawing-room and slapped her on the back and offered her a cigar, and I am not agnostic at all. That is not impossible; it’s only incredible. But I’m much more certain it didn’t happen than that Parnell’s ghost didn’t appear; because it violates the laws of the world I do understand.”

“There's a long-standing debate in the media biz over whether the news outlets should give the public what it wants, or what it needs. This debate presupposes that media execs actually know what it wants or needs. And that there actually is a unitary "public.”

“Keep your feet firmly planted on the ground...don't let your ego run out of control and convince you that you are better than anyone else”

“Never abandon your personal message. No matter what comes your way, remain dedicated to that which you hold close to your heart”

“Thrift of time will repay you in afterlife with a usury of profit beyond your most sanguine dreams waste of it will make you dwindle alike in intellectual and moral stature beyond your darkest reckoning.”