The UK statesman and former four-time Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone has been mentioned in a few articles, including one about his enemy and rival Benjamin Disraeli's rise to political power.
I knew very little about Gladstone at the time; unlike Disraeli, he had never caught my interest or imagination. I did know though that he is mentioned many times in Jonathan Stroud's Bartimaeus books, the wonderful fantasy trilogy that features London, magic and alternative history.
This extract is from The Amulet of Samarkand, the first book in the series:
"...Gladstone...was the most powerful magician ever to become Prime Minister. He dominated the Victorian Age for thirty years and brought the feuding factions of magicians under government control. You must have heard of his duel with the sorcerer Disraeli on Westminster Green?”
I suddenly remembered the Bartimaeus references recently; it then occurred to me that if Gladstone had inspired Jonathan Stroud enough to be featured in his books, the great Victorian politician might be worth a quick investigation.
I soon found a few good quotations to highlight here.
I have found this statement to be very true – and the examples I have seen very annoying:
“Men are apt to mistake the strength of their feeling for the strength of their argument. The heated mind resents the chill touch and relentless scrutiny of logic.”
These words may seem unoriginal and to state the very obvious, but they come close to home. People who get all emotional, won't listen to reason and ignore the evidence are a big pain!
William Gladstone is said to have been a voracious reader and great scholar from an early age.
Anyone who says something like this can't be all bad:
“Books are delightful society. If you go into a room and find it full of books - even without taking them from the shelves they seem to speak to you, to bid you welcome.”
This reminds me of what Sir Arthur Conan Doyle says in Through the Magic Door about the books in his library being his beloved companions:
“...there is no volume there which is not a dear, personal friend...”
There is a game that people play in which you have to choose which one of two items you would go without for the rest of your life.
“If you are cold, tea will warm you;
if you are too heated, it will cool you;
If you are depressed, it will cheer you;
If you are excited, it will calm you.”
There is something similar to that last line in Terry Pratchett's Night Watch:
“You know, some tea really would calm you down,’ said Sweeper.”
A depiction of the great Gladstone taking tea:
