You may talk of the tyranny of Nero and Tiberius; but the real tyranny is the tyranny of your next-door neighbor …. Public opinion is a permeating influence, and it exacts obedience to itself; it requires us to think other men’s thoughts, to speak other men’s words, to follow other men’s habits.

Walter Bagehot (1826-1877) British businessman, essayist, journalist
Biographical Studies, “Sir Robert Peel” (1907)

 
Added on 24-Jun-10 | Last updated 24-Jun-10
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