I am bound to furnish my antagonists with arguments, but not with comprehension.

Why should one say that the machine does not live? It breathes, for its breath forms the atmosphere of some towns.

I believe that, without party, Parliamentary government is impossible.

The difference between talent and genius is this: while the former usually develops some special branch of our faculties, the latter commands them all. When the former is combined with tact, it is often more than a match for the latter.

A great thing is a great book; but a greater thing than all is the talk of a great man.

It is a great mistake to suppose that bribery and corruption, although they may be very convenient for gratifying the ambition or the vanity of individuals, have any great effect upon the fortunes or the power of parties. And it is a great mistake to suppose that bribery and corruption are means by which power can either be ob-tained or retained.

The world is governed by very different personages from what is imagined by those who are not behind the scenes.