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Facts are the mere dross of history. It is from the abstract truth which interpenetrates them, and lies latent among them, like gold in the ore, that the mass derives its whole value: and the precious particles are generally combined with the baser in such a manner that the separation is a task of the utmost difficulty. — Thomas Babington Macaulay · 1828The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm. — Thomas Babington Macaulay · 1828And how can man die better Than facing fearful odds, For the ashes of his fathers And the temples of his gods. — Thomas Babington Macaulay · 1842Men are never so likely to settle a question rightly as when they discuss it freely. — Thomas Babington Macaulay · 1830As civilisation advances, poetry almost necessarily declines... In proportion as men know more and think more, they look less at individuals and more at classes. They therefore make better theories and worse poems. — Thomas Babington Macaulay · 1825With the dead there is no rivalry. In the dead there is no change. Plato is never sullen. Cervantes is never petulant. Demosthenes never comes unseasonably. Dante never stays too long. No difference of political opinion can alienate Cicero. No heresy can excite the horror of Bossuet. — Thomas Babington Macaulay · 1837All 11 quotes →