Speech in the House of Commons (16 May 1882) denouncing the Kilmainham Treaty
“

He did not believe that any such transaction could be quoted from the annals of our political or Parliamentary history. It stood alone—he did not wish to use strong language, but he was going to say—it stood alone in its infamy.

— Arthur Balfour

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "He did not believe that any such transaction could be quoted from the annals of our political or Parliamentary history. It stood alone—he did not wish to use strong language, but he was going to say—it stood alone in its infamy." in the context of "Speech in the House of Commons (16 May 1882) denouncing the Kilmainham Treaty" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Arthur Balfour" (Quotes, Backbench MP) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Arthur Balfour

About Arthur Balfour

Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, KG, OM, PC (25 July 1848 – 19 March 1930) was a British Conservative statesman and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1902 until 1905. The author of several influential works of philosophy, he was one of the most intellectual prime ministers of the 20th century. As Foreign Secretary he authored the Balfour Declaration of 1917, which supported the establishment of a homeland for the Jewish people in Palestine.