“ The historian of great events is always oppressed by the difficulty of tracing the silent, subtle influences, which in all communities precede and prepare the way for violent outbursts and uprisings. ”
Winston Churchill, The Story of the Malakand Field Force (1898). copy citation
| Author | Winston Churchill |
|---|---|
| Source | The Story of the Malakand Field Force |
| Topic | difficulty influence |
| Date | 1898 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | https://www.gutenberg.org/files/9404/9404-h/9404-h.htm |
Context
“and at the growing cantonment on the Malakand Pass, it needs no education to appreciate its significance. Nor can any sophistry obscure it.
CHAPTER III: THE OUTBREAK Tantum religio potuit suadere malorum. LUCRETIUS.
The historian of great events is always oppressed by the difficulty of tracing the silent, subtle influences, which in all communities precede and prepare the way for violent outbursts and uprisings. He may discover many causes and record them duly, but he will always be sensible that others have escaped him. The changing tides of public opinion, the undercurrents of interest, partisanship and caprice, the whirlpools of illogical sentiment or ignorant prejudice, exert forces so complex and numerous, that to observe and appreciate them all, and to estimate the effect of each in raising the storm, is a task beyond the intellect and industry of man.”
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