Colonel House to Northcliffe (18 July 1918), quoted in Reginald Pound and Geoffrey Harmsworth, Northcliffe (1959), p. 656
“

You do not know how much pleasure those visits gave us, nor how much I miss being in touch with you. I was reading today in our cable despatches from neutral countries nearby Germany, how much they were disturbed by "the propaganda which Lord Northcliffe is directing against us. The English are doing more to defeat us in this way than the armies in the field." This is the greatest tribute one could have.

— Colonel House

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "You do not know how much pleasure those visits gave us, nor how much I miss being in touch with you. I was reading today in our cable despatches from neutral countries nearby Germany, how much they were disturbed by "the propaganda which Lord Northcliffe is directing against us. The English are doing more to defeat us in this way than the armies in the field." This is the greatest tribute one could have." in the context of "Colonel House to Northcliffe (18 July 1918), quoted in Reginald Pound and Geoffrey Harmsworth, Northcliffe (1959), p. 656" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe" (Quotes about Northcliffe) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 19, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app

About Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe

Alfred Charles William Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe (15 July 1865 – 14 August 1922), was a British newspaper and publishing magnate. As owner of the Daily Mail and the Daily Mirror, he was an early developer of popular journalism, and he exercised vast influence over British popular opinion during the Edwardian era. Lord Beaverbrook said he was "the greatest figure who ever strode down Fleet Street." About the beginning of the 20th century there were increasing attempts to develop popular journalism intended for the working class and tending to emphasize sensational topics. Harmsworth was the main innovator.