In 1825, Thomas Babington Macaulay retold a tale from sixteenth-century poet Ludovico Ariosto about a fairy doomed to take every now and then the form of a dreadful serpent. Those who harmed her in her enchantment forfeited her favour ever after, but those who pitied her she handsomely rewarded. Liberty, said Macaulay, is a fairy of the same kind.

The fairy Liberty, explained Macaulay, sometimes takes on an ugly appearance, but those faithful to her will be rewarded. Nothing can ready slaves for liberty beforehand. Just as our eyes grow accustomed to bright sunlight, and no one learns to swim on dry land, so too the blessings of Liberty come only by trial and error.

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