QuotesCosmos
John Moncure Daniel (January 1860), quoted in Denis Mack Smith, Cavour (1985), p. 185
“

[Cavour is] one of those domineering, grasping men [who has] a radical contempt for all law but their own will. [He] is a Voltairian in his philosophy and wholly unscrupulous in his words and actions – a fact which should not be regarded as a fault in him, for were it otherwise he would be wholly unfit for and incapable of the government of an Italian people. He loves money and has made a large private fortune while attending to the affairs of his nation, and he dearly loves power. Of this he can never bring himself to partake with any other: nor can he brook the least opposition from any quarter great or small.

— John Moncure Daniel

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "[Cavour is] one of those domineering, grasping men [who has] a radical contempt for all law but their own will. [He] is a Voltairian in his philosophy and wholly unscrupulous in his words and actions – a fact which should not be regarded as a fault in him, for were it otherwise he would be wholly unfit for and incapable of the government of an Italian people. He loves money and has made a large private fortune while attending to the affairs of his nation, and he dearly loves power. Of this he can never bring himself to partake with any other: nor can he brook the least opposition from any quarter great or small." in the context of "John Moncure Daniel (January 1860), quoted in Denis Mack Smith, Cavour (1985), p. 185" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour" (Quotes about Cavour) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app

Tags

#Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour#wholly#loves#unscrupulous#domineering#voltairian#philosophy#government#opposition#otherwise#incapable#attending

About Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour

Camillo Paolo Filippo Giulio Benso, Count of Cavour, Isolabella and Leri (10 August 1810 – 6 June 1861), generally known as Cavour, was an Italian statesman and a leading figure in the movement toward Italian unification. He was one of the leaders of the Historical Right, and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Piedmont–Sardinia, a position he maintained (except for a six-month resignation) throughout the Second Italian War of Independence and Giuseppe Garibaldi's campaigns to unite Italy. After the declaration of a united Kingdom of Italy, Cavour took office as the first Prime Minister of Italy; he died after only three months in office, and thus did not live to see Venetia or Rome added to the new Italian nation.