Quotation by

William Butler Yeats

You that would judge me, do not judge alone this book or that, come to this hallowed place where my friends' portraits hang and look thereon Ireland's history in their lineaments trace think where man's glory most begins and ends and say my glory was I ha

History

Understanding this quote AI Analysis

The speaker asks those who criticize him not to base their judgment solely on individual works but to consider the broader context of Ireland's history and the people who shaped it, as represented by the portraits in a sacred place. He implies that true honor lies in being part of this historical and cultural legacy, suggesting that his own pride comes from belonging to that collective story.

More by this author

All quotes by William Butler Yeats →

More quotes about History

See all →

Literature overtakes history, for literature gives you more than one life. It expands experience and opens new opportunities to readers.

If I had been elected president in 1948, history would be vastly different. I believe we would have stemmed the growth of Big Government, which had begun with the New Deal and culminated with the Gre…

For most of our history, Americans enjoyed both liberty and security from foreign threats.

There is nothing glorious about what our ancestors call history. It is simply a succession of mistakes, intolerances and violations.

This is a good time to ask apologists for the Islamic regime, who degrades Islam? Who imposes stoning, forced marriage of underage girls and flogging for not wearing the veil? Do such practices repre…

What would be the nicest thing I could say about Newt Gingrich? He may be one of the great supporters of the humanities, because you have people who don't want to study the social sciences, because i…