Bertrand Russell, "The Ancestry of Fascism", in In Praise of Idleness and other Essays, Allen & Unwin, London, 1935. Also quoted in William A. Robson, "The Political Quarterly" in the Thirties, Allen Lane, London, 1971

Those who still think that Carlyle was in some sense more or less Liberal should read his chapter on Democracy in Past and Present. Most of it is occupied with praise of William the Conqueror, and with a description of the pleasant lives enjoyed by serfs in his day. Then comes a definition of liberty : “ The true liberty of a man , you would say, consisted in his finding out, or being forced to find out, the right path, and to walk thereon"...He passes on to the statement that democracy " means despair of finding any Heroes to govern you, and contented putting up with the want of them." The chapter ends by stating, in eloquent prophetical language, that, when democracy shall have run its full course, the problem that will remain is " that of finding government by your Real-Superiors." Is there one word in all this to which Hitler would not subscribe?

— Bertrand Russell on Thomas Carlyle

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Those who still think that Carlyle was in some sense more or less Liberal should read his chapter on Democracy in Past and Present. Most of it is occupied with praise of William the Conqueror, and with a description of the pleasant lives enjoyed by serfs in his day. Then comes a definition of liberty : “ The true liberty of a man , you would say, consisted in his finding out, or being forced to find out, the right path, and to walk thereon"...He passes on to the statement that democracy " means despair of finding any Heroes to govern you, and contented putting up with the want of them." The chapter ends by stating, in eloquent prophetical language, that, when democracy shall have run its full course, the problem that will remain is " that of finding government by your Real-Superiors." Is there one word in all this to which Hitler would not subscribe?" in the context of "Bertrand Russell, "The Ancestry of Fascism", in In Praise of Idleness and other Essays, Allen & Unwin, London, 1935. Also quoted in William A. Robson, "The Political Quarterly" in the Thirties, Allen Lane, London, 1971" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Thomas Carlyle" (Quotes about Carlyle, M–Z) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed February 08, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Bertrand Russell

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.