Thursday, September 05, 2019

First Paragraph

The last government in the Western world to possess all the attributes of aristocracy in working condition took office in England in June of 1895. Great Britain was at the zenith of empire when the Conservatives won the General Election of that year, and the Cabinet they formed was her superb and resplendent image. Its members represented the greater landowners of the country who had been accustomed to govern for generations. As its superior citizens they felt they owed a duty to the State to guard its interests and manage its affairs. They governed from duty, heritage and habit - and, as they saw it, from right.

- From The Proud Tower: A Portrait of the World Before the War, 1890-1914 by Barbara W. Tuchman

No comments: