"There are thus great swathes of the past where understanding is more important and reputable than judgement, because the principal actors performed in line with the ideas and values of that time, not of ours"
About this Quote
The subtext is defensive and distinctly political. As a Conservative grandee formed by empire’s long afterlife and Britain’s late-20th-century culture wars, Hurd is implicitly answering a contemporary impulse to retroactively prosecute the dead for failing modern tests: on colonial governance, war, class, race, gender. He’s not denying wrongdoing; he’s warning against an anachronistic method that converts the past into a mirror for our own righteousness. "Great swathes" also matters: this isn’t a narrow plea for nuance in one scandal; it’s a program for how a nation narrates itself.
His logic hinges on "principal actors performed" - history as performance on a stage with different scripts. That metaphor smuggles in empathy: people are shaped by their time, not simply choosing evil in a vacuum. Yet it also conveniently shelters institutions, because "ideas and values of that time" can become a blanket that covers brutality as mere context. The line is persuasive precisely because it offers humility while leaving open the question modern readers care about most: when does understanding become an alibi?
Quote Details
| Topic | Ethics & Morality |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite | Cite this Quote |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Hurd, Douglas. (n.d.). There are thus great swathes of the past where understanding is more important and reputable than judgement, because the principal actors performed in line with the ideas and values of that time, not of ours. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/there-are-thus-great-swathes-of-the-past-where-141122/
Chicago Style
Hurd, Douglas. "There are thus great swathes of the past where understanding is more important and reputable than judgement, because the principal actors performed in line with the ideas and values of that time, not of ours." FixQuotes. Accessed February 3, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/there-are-thus-great-swathes-of-the-past-where-141122/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"There are thus great swathes of the past where understanding is more important and reputable than judgement, because the principal actors performed in line with the ideas and values of that time, not of ours." FixQuotes, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/there-are-thus-great-swathes-of-the-past-where-141122/. Accessed 3 Feb. 2026.
