“ The politician who becomes the master of his country sinks from the statesman to the tyrant. ”
Anthony Trollope, Phineas Redux (1874). copy citation
| Author | Anthony Trollope |
|---|---|
| Source | Phineas Redux |
| Topic | politician statesman |
| Date | 1874 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/18640/18640-h/18640-h.htm |
Context
“I have but one ambition."
"And that is—?"
"To be the serviceable slave of my country."
"A master is more serviceable than a slave," said the old man.
"No; no; I deny it. I can admit much from you, but I cannot admit that. The politician who becomes the master of his country sinks from the statesman to the tyrant."
"We misunderstand each other, my friend. Pitt, and Peel, and Palmerston were not tyrants, though each assumed and held for himself to the last the mastery of which I speak. Smaller men who have been slaves, have been as patriotic as they, but less useful.”
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