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Explore 1184 quotes by Politicians

In Palestine we do not propose even to go through the form of consulting the wishes of the present inhabitants of the country... The Four Great Powers are committed to Zionism. And Zionism, be it right or wrong, good or bad, is rooted in age-long traditions, in present needs, in future hopes, of far profounder import than the desires and prejudices of the 700,000 Arabs who now inhabit that ancient land.

Arthur James Balfour

Memorandum to Lord Curzon, August 11, 1919

More information about this quote

Topic

Israel-Palestine conflict

Author

Arthur James Balfour

Source

Memorandum to Lord Curzon, August 11, 1919

Genre

Political literature

Language

English

Time

1919 1910s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Balfour, Arthur James. Memorandum to Lord Curzon. 11 Aug. 1919.

Current Citation

Balfour, Arthur James. Quoted in Dangerous Liaisons: Gender, Nation, and Postcolonial Perspectives, edited by Anne McClintock and Aamir Mufti and Ella Shohat. University of Minnesota Press, 1997.

On this February day, as this nation stands at the brink of battle, every American on some level must be contemplating the horrors of war. Yet this chamber is, for the most part, silent-ominously, dreadfully silent. There is no debate, no discussion, no attempt to lay out for the nation the pros and cons of this particular war. There is nothing. We stand passively mute in the United States Senate, paralyzed by our own uncertainty, seemingly stunned by the sheer turmoil of events.

Robert Byrd

More information about this quote

Topic

Iraq War American politics

Speaker

Robert Byrd

Medium

Speech

Genre

Political speech

Language

English

Time

2003 2000s 21st century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Byrd, Robert C. Speech on the impending invasion of Iraq. 12 Feb. 2003, US Capitol Building, Washington, DC, USA.

Long experience has taught me that to be criticized is not always to be wrong.

Anthony Eden

More information about this quote

Topic

Criticism from others Criticism

Speaker

Anthony Eden

Medium

Speech

Language

English

Time

1956 1950s 20th century

Authentication Score 1

Citation

Eden, Anthony. Speech at Lord Mayor's guildhall banquet. Lord Mayor's Guildhall Banquet. c. 1956, London, England, UK.

We of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations who participated in the decisions on Vietnam acted according to what we thought were the priniples and traditions of this nation. We made our decisions in the light of those values. Yet we were wrong, terribbly wrong. We owe it to future generations to explain why.

Robert McNamara

More information about this quote

Topic

Vietnam War

Author

Robert McNamara

Genre

Historical literature

Language

English

Time

1995 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

McNamara, Robert. In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam. Random House, 1995, preface.

It is as wholly wrong to blame Marx for what was done in his name, as it is to blame Jesus for what was done in his name.

Tony Benn

More information about this quote

Topic

Marxism Ideological excess Ideology

Speaker

Tony Benn

Source

The Benn Heresy

Medium

Interview

Language

English

Time

1982 1980s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Benn, Tony. Quoted in The Benn Heresy by Alan Freeman. Pluto Press, 1982. Originally stated during a TV interview, c. 1982.

The soul's dark cottage, batter'd and decay'd,
Lets in new light through chinks that Time has made;
Stronger by weakness, wiser, men become
As they draw near to their eternal home.
Leaving the old; both worlds at once they view,
That stand upon the threshold of the new.

Edmund Waller

On the Divine Poems

More information about this quote

Topic

Personal growth Effects of time Acquiring wisdom

Author

Edmund Waller

Source

On the Divine Poems

Language

English

Time

1686 1680s 17th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Waller, Edmund. "On the Foregoing Divine Poems." Poetical Works of Edmund Waller and Sir John Denham. Edinburgh: James Nichol, 1857.

That all men are by nature equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter into a state of society, they cannot by any compact deprive or divest their posterity; namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.

George Mason

Virginia Bill of Rights

Read The Virginia Declaration of Rights at the National Archives website

More information about this quote

Topic

Natural law Political theory

Author

George Mason

Source

Virginia Bill of Rights

Genre

Political literature

Language

English

Time

1776 1770s 18th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Mason, George. Virginia Bill of Rights. 12 June 1776, article 1.

How horrible, fantastic, incredible it is that we should be digging trenches and trying on gas masks here because of a quarrel in a far away country between people of whom we know nothing.

Neville Chamberlain

On German's annexation of the Sudetenland.

More information about this quote

Topic

World War II

Speaker

Neville Chamberlain

Medium

Radio broadcast

Language

English

Time

1938 1930s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Chamberlain, Neville. Radio broadcast referring to the Czechoslovakia crisis. 27 Sept. 1938, 10 Downing Street, London, England, UK.

The one absolutely unselfish friend that man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him, the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous, is his dog.... When all other friends desert, he remains.

George Graham Vest

Eulogy of the Dog

Read Eulogy of the Dog at senate.gov

More information about this quote

Topic

Dogs Man and animals

Speaker

George Graham Vest

Source

Eulogy of the Dog

Medium

Courtroom speech Speech

Language

English

Time

1870 1870s 19th century

Authentication Score 1

Citation

Vest, George Graham. "The Eulogy of the Dog." The Old Drum Case. Hornsby v. Burden, 23 Sept. 1870.

We have not overthrown the divine right of kings to fall down for the divine right of experts.

Harold Macmillan

More information about this quote

Topic

Experts

Speaker

Harold Macmillan

Medium

Speech

Genre

Political speech

Language

English

Time

1950 1950s 20th century

Authentication Score 1

Citation

MacMillan, Harold. Speech in Strasbourg. 16 Aug. 1950, Strasbourg, France.

Writers the most learned, the most accurate in details, and the soundest in tendency, frequently fall into a habit which can neither be cured nor pardoned-the habit of making history into the proof of their theories.

Lord Acton

More information about this quote

Topic

Confirmation bias

Author

Lord Acton

Genre

Historical literature

Language

English

Time

1907 1900s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Lord Acton. "Mr. Goldwin Smith's Irish History." The History of Freedom and Other Essays. Macmillan, 1907.

Faith is something you die for; a doctrine is something you kill for: there is all the difference in the world.

Tony Benn

More information about this quote

Topic

Faith Martyrdom Fanaticism Religious extremism Religion

Author

Tony Benn

Source

The Observer

Medium

Newspaper

Language

English

Time

1989 1980s 20th century

Authentication Score 1

Citation

Benn, Tony. "Sayings of the Week." The Observer, 16 Apr. 1989.

His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done whech may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.

Arthur James Balfour

Balfour Declaration

Read the Balfour Declaration at the Yale Law School library website

More information about this quote

Topic

Creation of Israel Israel International politics

Author

Arthur James Balfour

Source

Balfour Declaration

Medium

Letter

Genre

Political literature

Language

English

Time

1917 1910s 20th century

Authentication Score 2

Citation

Balfour, Arthur James. Letter to Lord Rothschild. 2 Nov. 1917.

No lesson seems to be so deeply inculcated by the experience of life as that you never should trust experts. If you believe the doctors, nothing is wholesome: if you believe the theologians, nothing is innocent: if you believe the soldiers, nothing is safe. They all require to have their strong wine diluted by a very large admixture of insipid common sense.

Lord Salisbury

More information about this quote

Topic

Experts

Author

Lord Salisbury

Medium

Letter

Language

English

Time

1877 1870s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Lord Salisbury. Letter to Lord Lytton. 15 June 1877.

Freedom is an indivisible word. If we want to enjoy it, and fight for it, we must be prepared to extend it to everyone, whether they are rich or poor, whether they agree with us or not, no matter what their race or the color of their skin.

Wendell Willkie

More information about this quote

Topic

Freedom

Author

Wendell Willkie

Source

One World

Genre

Political literature

Language

English

Time

1943 1940s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Willkie, Wendell Lewis. One World. Simon & Schuster, 1943, ch. 13.

Britain will be honoured by historians more for the way she disposed of an empire than for the way in which she acquired it.

David Ormsby Gore

Quoted in The New York Times

More information about this quote

Topic

British imperialism Imperialism

Speaker

David Ormsby Gore

Source

The New York Times

Medium

Newspaper

Language

English

Time

1962 1960s 20th century

Authentication Score 1

Citation

Ormsby-Gore, David. Quoted in The New York Times. 28 Oct. 1962.

Living next to you is in some ways like sleeping with an elephant. No matter how friendly and even-tempered the beast, one is affected by every twitch and grunt.

Pierre Trudeau

On relations between Canada and the US.

More information about this quote

Topic

America and Canada America

Speaker

Pierre Trudeau

Medium

Speech

Language

English

Time

1969 1960s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Trudeau, Pierre. Speech at National Press Club. National Press Club meeting. 25 Mar. 1969, Washington, DC, USA.

The pleasure is momentary, the position ridiculous, and the expense damnable.

Lord Chesterfield

On sex.

More information about this quote

Topic

Sex

Speaker

Lord Chesterfield

Language

English

Time

1773 1770s 18th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Stanhope, Philip Dormer. Stated to his son, Philip Stanhope. c. 1773.

We don't want so much to see a female Einstein become an assistant professor. We want a woman schlemiel to get promoted as quickly as a male schlemiel.

Bella Abzug

"Schlemiel" is a Yiddish term meaning, roughly, an unlucky, incompetent or foolish person.

More information about this quote

Topic

Women's equality

Speaker

Bella Abzug

Source

US News and World Report

Medium

Magazine

Language

English

Time

1977 1970s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Abzug, Bella. US News and World Report. 25 Apr. 1977.

There are times, perhaps once every thirty years, when there is a sea-change in politics. It then does not matter what you say or what you do. There is a shift in what the public wants and what it approves of. I suspect there is now such a sea-change-and it is for Mrs. Thatcher.

James Callaghan

More information about this quote

Topic

Political winds Politics

Speaker

James Callaghan

Language

English

Time

1979 1970s 20th century

Authentication Score 1

Citation

Callaghan, James. Quoted in Callaghan: A Life, written by Kenneth O. Morgan. Oxford University Press, 1997.