Derek Caelin quoted Twelve Who Ruled by R. R. Palmer
They did not even have much practical belief in a republic. But their conception of statesmanship was patterned on their dream. Their ideal statesman was no tactician, no compromiser, no skilful organizer who could keep various factions and pressure groups together. He was a man of elevated character, who knew himself to be in the right, a towering monument in a world of calumny and misunderstanding, a man who would have no dealings with the partisans of error, and who, like Brutus, would sacrifce his own children that a principle might prevail.
— Twelve Who Ruled by R. R. Palmer (Page 19)