What you say about Gladstone is most just. What restlessness! What vanity! And what unhappiness must be his! Easy to say he is mad. It looks like it. My theory about him is unchanged: A ceaseless Tartuffe from the beginning. That sort of man does not get mad at 70.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The text claims Gladstone is restless, vain, and unhappy, comparing him to a hypocrite rather than a madman.
- In plain terms
- Gladstone is not crazy but is a vain and unhappy hypocrite.
- What can you take from it?
- Vanity and restlessness can signal unhappiness.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Can vanity cause unhappiness?
- Is hypocrisy a sign of madness?
Another view
The quote relies on personal opinion rather than observable facts.
More from William Ewart Gladstone
He speaks to Me as if I was a public meeting.
Permalink to quote #41 If there were no Tories, I am afraid he would invent them.
Permalink to quote #43 An almost spectral kind of phantasm of a man--nothing in him but forms and ceremonies and outside wrappings.
Permalink to quote #40
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