244 Quotes by Thomas B. Macaulay

The merit of poetry, in its wildest forms, still consists in its truth-truth conveyed to the understanding, not directly by the words, but circuitously by means of imaginative associations, which serve as its conductors.

And how can man die better than facing fearful odds, for the ashes of his fathers, and the temples of his Gods?

If the Sunday had not been observed as a day of rest during the last three centuries, I have not the slightest doubt that we should have been at this moment a poorer people and less civilized.

As civilization advances, poetry almost necessarily declines.

The best portraits are those in which there is a slight mixture of caricature.

The effective strength of sects is not to be ascertained merely by counting heads.

But thou, through good and evil, praise and blame, Wilt not thou love me for myself alone? Yes, thou wilt love me with exceeding love, And I will tenfold all that love repay; Still smiling, though the tender may reprove, Still faithful, though the trusted may betray.

The measure of a man's real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.

A kind of semi-Solomon, half-knowing everything, from the cedar to the hyssop.