Bannockburn or Flodden." - Meaning and context.">
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Speech to the University of Edinburgh (26 January 1927), quoted in The Times (27 January 1927), p. 14
“

I am a Scotsman addressing Scotsmen, and I feel, therefore, peculiarly qualified to speak on this subject. I absolutely refuse to allow any man, be he English or be he Scottish, to rob me of my share in Magna Charta, or Shakespeare, because of Bannockburn or Flodden.

— Arthur Balfour

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "I am a Scotsman addressing Scotsmen, and I feel, therefore, peculiarly qualified to speak on this subject. I absolutely refuse to allow any man, be he English or be he Scottish, to rob me of my share in Magna Charta, or Shakespeare, because of Bannockburn or Flodden." in the context of "Speech to the University of Edinburgh (26 January 1927), quoted in The Times (27 January 1927), p. 14" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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

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#Arthur Balfour#shakespeare#bannockburn#addressing#peculiarly#absolutely#therefore#qualified#scotsman#scotsmen#scottish#subject
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.