I remember there was a very well-known speech of Salisbury's—the great Lord Salisbury was Prime Minister for thirteen years, a remarkable man, I often look back at his work—saying ‘You must never rely on the rightness of your cause. It isn't enough; it will not see you through. You are governing a country; trust only in your own defence’. And of course it was very very good advice.

— Margaret Thatcher on Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "I remember there was a very well-known speech of Salisbury's—the great Lord Salisbury was Prime Minister for thirteen years, a remarkable man, I often look back at his work—saying ‘You must never rely on the rightness of your cause. It isn't enough; it will not see you through. You are governing a country; trust only in your own defence’. And of course it was very very good advice." in the context of "Margaret Thatcher, 'TV Interview for De Wolfe Productions (30 December 1982)'" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury" (Quotes about Salisbury) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Margaret Thatcher

About Margaret Thatcher

Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (13 October 1925 – 8 April 2013) was a British politician and stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime minister and the longest-serving British prime minister of the 20th century. As prime minister, she implemented neoliberal economic policies of deregulation and privatization that became known as Thatcherism. A Soviet journalist dubbed her the "Iron Lady", a nickname that became associated with her uncompromising politics and leadership style.