John Lothrop Motley quotes

John Lothrop Motley was a renowned American historian and diplomat. Born on April 15, 1814, Motley gained fame for his exceptional scholarship and insightful works on Dutch history. His masterpiece, "The Rise of the Dutch Republic," propelled him into international recognition. Motley served as the U.S. ambassador to Austria and later to the United Kingdom, showcasing his diplomatic skills. With a deep passion for history, Motley's writings continue to inspire and captivate readers worldwide. Learn more about John Lothrop Motley's intriguing life and invaluable contributions by exploring this biography.

A third force, developing itself more slowly, becomes even more potent than the rest: the power of gold.

- John Lothrop Motley

Wealth brings strength, strength confidence.

- John Lothrop Motley

In Gaul were two orders, the nobility and the priesthood, while the people, says Caesar, were all slaves.

- John Lothrop Motley

A terrible animal, indeed, is an unbridled woman.

- John Lothrop Motley

The whole territory of the Netherlands was girt with forests.

- John Lothrop Motley

The history of the Franks becomes, therefore, the history of the Netherlands.

- John Lothrop Motley

With the Germans, the sovereignty resided in the great assembly of the people.

- John Lothrop Motley

History shows how feeble are barriers of paper.

- John Lothrop Motley

The ferocious inroads of the Normans scared many weak and timid persons into servitude.

- John Lothrop Motley

For a century longer, Rome still retains its outward form, but the swarming nations are now in full career.

- John Lothrop Motley

A soil, exhausted by the long culture of Pagan empires, was to lie fallow for a still longer period.

- John Lothrop Motley

The crusades made great improvement in the condition of the serfs.

- John Lothrop Motley

A new civilization was not to be improvised by a single mind.

- John Lothrop Motley

Give us the luxuries of life, and we will dispense with its necessaries.

- John Lothrop Motley

When did one man ever civilize a people?

- John Lothrop Motley

Thus the whole country was broken into many shreds and patches of sovereignty.

- John Lothrop Motley

In the tenth century the old Batavian and later Roman forms have faded away.

- John Lothrop Motley

The splendid empire of Charles the Fifth was erected upon the grave of liberty.

- John Lothrop Motley

Thus again the Netherlands, for the first time since the fall of Rome, were united under one crown imperial. They had already been once united, in their slavery to Rome.

- John Lothrop Motley

The rise of the Dutch Republic must ever be regarded as one of the leading events of modern times.

- John Lothrop Motley

A good lawyer is a bad Christian.

- John Lothrop Motley