Quotes and anectdotes from the wise to the foolish, and the courageous to the drunk

Benjamin Disraeli

  • Gender: Male
  • Citizenship: United Kingdom
  • Born: Dec 21, 1804
  • Died: Apr 19, 1881

Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, KG, PC, FRS, was a British Conservative politician, writer and aristocrat who twice served as Prime Minister. He played a central role in the creation of the modern Conservative Party, defining its policies and its broad outreach. Disraeli is remembered for his influential voice in world affairs, his political battles with the Liberal leader William Ewart Gladstone, and his one-nation conservatism or "Tory democracy". He made the Conservatives the party most identified with the glory and power of the British Empire. He is, as at 2014, the only British Prime Minister of Jewish birth.

Disraeli was born in London. His father left Judaism after a dispute at his synagogue; young Benjamin became an Anglican at age 12. After several unsuccessful attempts, Disraeli entered the House of Commons in 1837. When the Conservatives gained power in 1841, Disraeli was given no office by the Prime Minister, Sir Robert Peel. In 1846, Peel split the party over his proposal to repeal the Corn Laws, which imposed a tariff on imported grain. Disraeli clashed with Peel in the Commons.

The more extensive a man's knowledge of what has been done, the greater will be his power of knowing what to do. knowledge & power

The wisdom of the wise and the experience of the ages are perpetuated by quotations. experience & wisdom

Justice is truth in action. truth

There is no gambling like politics. politics

No man is regular in his attendance at the House of Commons until he is married. marriage

It destroys one's nerves to be amiable every day to the same human being. marriage

The first magic of love is our ignorance that it can ever end. love

There is no education like adversity. education

Characters do not change. Opinions alter, but characters are only developed. change

Never apologize for showing feeling. When you do so, you apologize for the truth. truth

What is earnest is not always true on the contrary, error is often more earnest than truth. truth

Courage is fire, and bullying is smoke. courage

Man is only great when he acts from passion. great & wisdom

The pursuit of science leads only to the insoluble. science

Something unpleasant is coming when men are anxious to tell the truth. men & truth

As a general rule, the most successful man in life is the man who has the best information. best

Assassination has never changed the history of the world. history

No Government can be long secure without a formidable Opposition. government

Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory. history

That fatal drollery called a representative government. government

In a progressive country change is constant change is inevitable. change

The health of the people is really the foundation upon which all their happiness and all their powers as a state depend. happiness & health

We are all born for love. It is the principle of existence, and its only end. love

Real politics are the possession and distribution of power. politics & power

Almost everything that is great has been done by youth. great

Where knowledge ends, religion begins. knowledge & religion

Change is inevitable. Change is constant. change

Travel teaches toleration. travel

A majority is always better than the best repartee. best

Never complain and never explain. motivational

I am prepared for the worst, but hope for the best. best, hope & inspirational

Taking a new step, uttering a new word, is what people fear most. fear

The secret of success is constancy to purpose. success

Action may not always bring happiness but there is no happiness without action. happiness

A Conservative Government is an organized hypocrisy. government

The secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes. success

Beware of endeavoring to become a great man in a hurry. One such attempt in ten thousand may succeed. These are fearful odds. great & history

Finality is not the language of politics. politics

I say that justice is truth in action. truth

There is no act of treachery or meanness of which a political party is not capable for in politics there is no honour. politics

War is never a solution it is an aggravation. war

A University should be a place of light, of liberty, and of learning. learning

The practice of politics in the East may be defined by one word: dissimulation. politics

The services in wartime are fit only for desperadoes, but in peace are only fit for fools. peace

You will find as you grow older that courage is the rarest of all qualities to be found in public life. courage

The secret of success is to be ready when your opportunity comes. success

Through perseverance many people win success out of what seemed destined to be certain failure. failure & success

Seeing much, suffering much, and studying much, are the three pillars of learning. learning

To be conscious that you are ignorant of the facts is a great step to knowledge. great & knowledge

Power has only one duty - to secure the social welfare of the People. power

Experience is the child of thought, and thought is the child of action. experience

Nurture your minds with great thoughts. To believe in the heroic makes heroes. great & inspirational

Diligence is the mother of good fortune. good & success

Teach us that wealth is not elegance, that profusion is not magnificence, that splendor is not beauty. beauty

Upon the education of the people of this country the fate of this country depends. education

Man is not the creature of circumstances, circumstances are the creatures of men. We are free agents, and man is more powerful than matter. men

Circumstances are beyond human control, but our conduct is in our own power. power

The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches but to reveal to him his own. good & great

Great countries are those that produce great people. great

Duty cannot exist without faith. faith

Nature, like man, sometimes weeps from gladness. nature

Like all great travellers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen. great & travel

In politics nothing is contemptible. politics

We cannot learn men from books. men

Youth is the trustee of prosperity. teen

Fear makes us feel our humanity. fear

Time is precious, but truth is more precious than time. time & truth

You can tell the strength of a nation by the women behind its men. men, strength & women

Youth is a blunder Manhood a struggle, Old Age a regret. age

One secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes. life & success

The view of Jerusalem is the history of the world it is more, it is the history of earth and of heaven. history

There is no waste of time in life like that of making explanations. time

Silence is the mother of truth. truth

Let the fear of a danger be a spur to prevent it he that fears not, gives advantage to the danger. fear

Success is the child of audacity. success