19

Make the Case Your Own

By John Wesley

John Wesley wondered how those involved in the slave trade would feel if the tables were ever turned on them.

20

A Patriot, Sir!

By Sir Robert Walpole

Sir Robert Walpole wasn’t impressed with kind of politician who pursues his own ambitions in the name of serving the country.

21

Truth By Statute?

By John Milton

John Milton reminded Parliament that the Truth wasn’t what they and their fact-checkers in Stationers’ Hall made it.

22

Naked Aggression

By Richard Cobden

Richard Cobden told his audience in the London Tavern that however much sabre-rattling was heard in St Petersburg, the average Russian was a man of peace.

23

The Lessons of Empire

By W. Somerset Maugham

The British Empire’s hostile breakup with India should have taught everyone two things: money cannot buy love, and power does not command respect.

24

The Verdict of History

By John Acton, 1st Baron Acton

Two of the Victorian Age’s most distinguished historians locked horns over the question of whether historians should be nice.