Skip to content

There have certainly been many periods in history when virtue was more rare than under the Caesars; but there has probably never been a period when vice was more extravagant or uncontrolled.

— William Edward Hartpole Lecky A History of European Morals from Augustus to Charlemagne (1869)

Another quote →

More quotes by William Edward Hartpole Lecky

The great difficulty of Christianity is that many of the Bible revelations seem to clash with our sense of justice and right.

The Religious Tendencies of the Age (1860)

The great art in politics consists not in hearing those who speak, but in hearing those who are silent.

The map of life; conduct and character (1899)

Terror is everywhere the beginning of religion.

History of the Rise and Influence of the Spirit of Rationalism in Europe (1910)

There was a tradition that Pythagoras had himself penetrated to India, and learnt philosophy from the gymnosophists.

A History of European Morals from Augustus to Charlemagne (1869)

Ambition is the luxury of the happy. It is sometimes, but more rarely, the consolation and distraction of the wretched...

The map of life; conduct and character (1899)

All William Edward Hartpole Lecky quotes →

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: William Edward Hartpole Lecky (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.