Bertrand Russell, "The Harm That Good Men Do", in Sceptical Essays (1928)
“
In his youth Wordsworth sympathized with the French Revolution, went to France, wrote good poetry, and had a natural daughter. At this period he was called a "bad" man. Then he became "good", abandoned his daughter, adopted correct principles, and wrote bad poetry.
— Bertrand Russell on William Wordsworth
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "In his youth Wordsworth sympathized with the French Revolution, went to France, wrote good poetry, and had a natural daughter. At this period he was called a "bad" man. Then he became "good", abandoned his daughter, adopted correct principles, and wrote bad poetry." in the context of "Bertrand Russell, "The Harm That Good Men Do", in Sceptical Essays (1928)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "William Wordsworth" (Quotes about Wordsworth: Sorted alphabetically by author or source)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed February 08, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Tags
About Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell (May 18, 1872 – February 2, 1970) was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic. In 1950, he was awarded a Nobel Prize in Literature.
About Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell (May 18, 1872 – February 2, 1970) was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic. In 1950, he was awarded a Nobel Prize in Literature.
View all quotes →