“The highest proof of virtue is to possess boundless power without…” — Thomas Babington Macaulay | V2Melody

“The highest proof of virtue is to possess boundless power without abusing it.”

Defining true virtue through restraint in the exercise of power · Essay, The Life and Writings of Addison, Edinburgh Review, July 1843

Thomas Babington Macaulay

About Thomas Babington Macaulay

Thomas Babington Macaulay

25 October 1800–28 December 1859

Thomas Babington Macaulay was born on 25 October 1800 at Rothley Temple in Leicestershire and died on 28 December 1859 at Kensington, London. He was at once a poet, essayist, parliamentarian, colonial administrator, historian, reviewer, and one of the most commanding prose stylists in nineteenth-century English. To…

More by Thomas Babington Macaulay

Poems by Thomas Babington Macaulay

More remarks by Thomas Babington Macaulay

“The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm.”

Recognising the emerging power of the press as a political force · Essay, Hallam, Edinburgh Review, September 1828

“Copyright is monopoly, and produces all the effects which the general voice of mankind attributes to monopoly. Monopoly is an evil. For the sake of the good we must submit to the evil; but the evil ought not to last a day longer than is necessary for the purpose of securing the good.”

Balancing the need to reward authors against the public interest · Speech on the Copyright Bill, House of Commons, 5 February 1841

“But Coraggio — and think of A.D. 2850. Where will your Carlyles and Emersons be then? But Herodotus will still be read with delight. We must do our best to be read too.”

Reflecting on the lasting power of great historical writing · Journal entry, 12 January 1850