There are important arguments to be made about the relative merits of an hereditary or an elected head … - David Cannadine

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The Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God. " ~ Mere Christianity, By C. S. Lewis

David Cannadine

There are important arguments to be made about the relative merits of an hereditary or an elected head of state: but not at the level of the human frailties of particular monarchs or presidents. No one seriously contends that the American presidency should be abolished because Bill Clinton is a self-confessed adulterer. So why should the abolition of the British monarchy be contemplated because the same is true of Prince Charles?

Important, Monarchs, President, Self, State, True

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The older I get the more I'm convinced that it's the purpose of politicians and journalists to say the world is very simple, whereas it's the purpose of historians to say, 'No! It's very complicated. ' The job of the historian is to help give people a sense of existence in time, without which we are really not fully human.

Jobs, People, Politicians, Purpose, Say, Simple

He was, albeit only briefly, the hero of the world's hopes.

Albeit, Briefly, Hero, Hopes, War, World

Like sex, poverty and power, suicide may always be with us. But like them again, the actual form is takes is essentially time-specific and culture-bound, not only in the past but in the present too. The people who took their lives, the paths which led them to that end, and the experience of dying in this way were deeply influenced by specific historical circumstances. Only by making a greater effort at historical understanding can this most secret house of death be made to yield up more of its confidences.

Dying, Past, Secret, Sex, Specific, Suicide

For those who reject it, the Victorian experience is something to feel embarrassed about, to apologise for, to escape from, and never to repeat. But to those who remain enthralled, it is a fabulous story of oustanding success and splendid achievement, by comparison with which Britain's 20th century records seems at best unimpressive, and often distinctly lacklustre.

Achievement, Fabulous, Reject, Remain, Repeat, Stories

For Henry James, class was 'the essentially hierarchial plan of English society' which was 'the great and ever-present fact to the mind of a stranger; there is hardly a detail of life that does not in some degree betray it'.

Class, Details Of Life, Essentially, James, Mind, Stranger