Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Philip Gibbs

Quote by Philip Gibbs

“I do not blame Lord French. I have no right to blame him, as I am not a soldier nor a military expert. He did his best, with the highest motives. The blunders he made were due to ignorance of modern battles. Many other generals made many other blunders, and our men paid with their lives. Our High Command had to learn by mistakes, by ghastly mistakes, repeated often, until they became visible to the military mind and were paid for again by the slaughter of British youth. One does not blame. A writing-man, who was an observer and recorder, like myself, does not sit in judgment. He has no right to judge. He merely cries out, “O God! … O God!” in remembrance of all that agony and that waste of splendid boys who loved life, and died.”

Quote by Philip Gibbs

Work

Now It Can Be Told

Browse quotes and source details for this work. more

Author

Philip Gibbs
Philip Gibbs

Philip Gibbs was a distinguished British journalist born on May 1, 1877. His career spanned various fields of reporting, including politics, economics, and social issues. Gibbs was known for his in-depth investigations and keen insights, which had a profound impact on public opinion. more

You May Also Like

“എന്റെ വിളക്കു കത്തിക്കപ്പെടുക ഉണ്ടായില്ല. ഞാൻ കാത്തിരുന്നു. എന്റെ മൺവിളക്കു ചായം പുരട്ടി നിറം പിടിപ്പിച്ചു. വാസനയുളള എണ്ണ നിറച്ച് - പതുപതുത്ത തിരിയുമിട്ട് ഞാൻ കാത്തിരുന്നു. പക്ഷേ വിളക്കു കത്തിക്കപ്പെടുകയുണ്ടായില്ല. മിന്നാമിനുങ്ങുകൾ വന്നു. അവരുടെ ചൂടില്ലാത്ത വെളിച്ചത്തിൽ തിരി കത്തിയില്ല. ശ്രീകോവിലിനകത്തുകൂടി കൊളളിമീൻ വീശി. തിരിത്തലപ്പു കരിഞ്ഞു. കത്തിയില്ല. എന്റെ വിളക്കു കത്തിയ്ക്കപ്പെടുകയുണ്ടായില്ല. അവസാനം വരെയും.”

“Her blue eyes wavered as she blinked. He would never forget her shattered emotion at that moment. From her once shining heart, her once gleaming blue eyes—something had died. The blue eyes were now filled with unbearable disappointment and despair. It was at that night he bore witness to the fallen hope of his beloved someone—said hope died in his arms.”

“How often on an expedition have I told myself, "That's enough!" and then a few weeks later when the effort, worry, and hardship were forgotten, I began dreaming about a new journey, planning a new climb. Pretty soon I'd be off again. And once again, it would be dangerous. I never intended to risk my neck, but I knew that if I were ever to stop dreaming or traveling I would be old. And that would drive me to despair.”

“We don't get to say. Not if we want to save ourselves. We can't question everything. We have to be able to give the help that is asked for. Not what we think is needed. What is asked for. We justify ourselves with a thousand small acts of grace and charity. It's all meaningless. We want to be liked. To be liked. (He is staring out at the sea. He lifts one hand and lets it fall again) God. It goes beyond lacking all conviction. At the very core of despair is the conviction that convictions do not exist. That their reality exists solely in the claims of criminals and lunatics. I was on the beach last night and there was a bright light out to sea. I don't know what it was. A flare. Something. And I thought: What would happen if chaos should come? Would we be worse off? What if this were the sun misrisen at midnight. What if all order were suddenly in abeyance, the skies given over to the access of sudden random moons, everything mindless and migratory. So that all we knew was to be set aside and we found ourselves dwelling in a silent pandemonium. Would we be worse off? Would we be more damned under the transit of constellations unknown to us? What if we suddenly knew nothing? Nothing at all?”