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William Pitt
William Pitt
- Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom: it is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.speech, House of Commons, 18 November 1783
- England has saved herself by her exertions, and will, as I trust, save Europe by her example.replying to a toast in which he had been described as the saviour of his country in the wars with FranceR. Coupland War Speeches of William Pitt (1915)
- Roll up that map; it will not be wanted these ten years.of a map of Europe, on hearing of Napoleon's victory at Austerlitz, December 1805Earl Stanhope Life of the Rt. Hon. William Pitt vol. 4 (1862) ch. 43
- Oh, my country! how I leave my country!last words, also variously reported as ‘How I love my country’; and ‘My country! oh, my country!’Earl Stanhope Life of the Rt. Hon. William Pitt vol. 3 (1879) ch. 43; Earl Stanhope Life of the Rt. Hon. William Pitt (1st ed.), vol. 4 (1862) ch. 43; and G. Rose Diaries and Correspondence (1860) vol. 2, 23 January 1806; oral tradition reports, ‘I think I could eat one of Bellamy's veal pies’