| | |

A History of the English-Speaking Peoples quotes

Winston Churchill

English (15) Français (11)

edits filters

“Its picture rises before us vivid and bright: the finely carved, dragon-shaped prow; the high, curving stem; the long row of shields, black and yellow alternately, ranged along the sides; the gleam of steel; the scent of murder.” Winston Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples
“The reserve of modern assertions is sometimes pushed to extremes, in which the fear of being contradicted leads the writer to strip himself of almost all sense and meaning.” Winston Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples
“Like other systems in decay, the Roman Empire continued to function for several generations after its vitality was sapped. For nearly a hundred years our Island was one of the scenes of conflict between a dying civilisation and lusty, famishing...” Winston Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples
“Civilisation had been restored to the Island. But now the political fabric which nurtured it was about to be overthrown. Hitherto strong men armed had kept the house. Now a child, a weakling, a vacillator, a faithless, feckless creature,...” Winston Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples
“Let us then declare that King Arthur and his noble knights, guarding the Sacred Flame of Christianity and the theme of a world order, sustained by valour, physical strength, and good horses and armour, slaughtered innumerable hosts of foul...” Winston Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples
“In place of the King’s arbitrary despotism they proposed, not the withering anarchy of feudal separatism, but a system of checks and balances which would accord the monarchy its necessary strength, but would prevent its perversion by a tyrant...” Winston Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples
“Without any coherent national organisation to repel from the land on which they had settled the ever-unknowable descents from the seas, the Saxons, now for four centuries entitled to be deemed the owners of the soil, very nearly succumbed...” Winston Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples
“The lights of Saxon England were going out, and in the gathering darkness a gentle, grey-beard prophet foretold the end. When on his death-bed Edward spoke of a time of evil that was coming upon the land his inspired mutterings struck terror into...” Winston Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples
“It was Twelfth Night, and the Saxons, who in these days of torment refreshed and fortified themselves by celebrating the feasts of the Church, were off their guard, engaged in pious exercises, or perhaps even drunk. Down swept the ravaging foe....” Winston Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples
“We see the crude and corrupt beginnings of a higher civilisation blotted out by the ferocious uprising of the native tribes. Still, it is the primary right of men to die and kill for the land they live in, and to punish with exceptional severity...” Winston Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples
“Thus ended the great American Civil War, which must upon the whole be considered the noblest and least avoidable of all the great mass-conflicts of which till then there was record.” Winston Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples
“A group of pagan ruffians and pirates had gained possession of an effective military and naval machine, but they faced a mass of formidable veterans whom they had to feed and manage, and for whom they must provide killings. Such men make plans,...” Winston Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples
“It is vain to recount further the catalogue of miseries. In earlier ages such horrors remain unknown because unrecorded. Just enough flickering light plays upon this infernal scene to give us the sense of its utter desolation and hopeless...” Winston Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples
“At this point the march of invention brought a new factor upon the scene. Iron was dug and forged. Men armed with iron entered Britain from the Continent and killed the men of bronze. At this point we can plainly recognise across the vanished...” Winston Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples
“William now directed his archers to shoot high into the air, so that the arrows would fall behind the shield-wall, and one of these pierced Harold in the right eye, inflicting a mortal wound. He fell at the foot of the royal standard,...” Winston Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples

Related topics

civilisation war politics battle Saxons defeat weapons killing courage democracy Christianity strength darkness evil meaning cruelty right balance misery despotism

Links

Winston Churchill quotes