Average human nature is very coarse, and its ideals must necessarily be average. The world never loved perfect poise. What the world does love is commonly absence of poise, for it has to be amused.

As a historian, he felt it his duty to respect everything that had ever been respected, except for the occasional statesman.

You can't use tact with a Congressman! A Congressman is a hog! You must take a stick and hit him on the snout!

Simplicity is the most deceitful mistress that ever betrayed man.

No historian can take part with--or against--the forces he has to study. To him even the extinction of the human race should merely be a fact to be grouped with other vital statistics.

Practical politics consists in ignoring facts.

The historian must not try to know what is truth, if he values his honesty; for if he cares for his truths, he is certain to falsify his facts.