If You Are Not a Liberal at 25, You Have No Heart. If You Are Not a Conservative at 35 You Have No Brain

Edmund Burke? Anselme Batbie? Victor Hugo? King Oscar II of Sweden? George Bernard Shaw? François Guizot? Jules Claretie? Georges Clemenceau? Benjamin Disraeli? Winston Churchill? Anonymous?

Dear Quote Investigator: Some individuals change their political orientation as they grow older. There is a family of sayings that present a mordant judgment on this ideological evolution. Here are three examples:

Not to be a républicain at twenty is proof of want of heart; to be one at thirty is proof of want of head.

If you’re not a socialist before you’re twenty-five, you have no heart; if you are a socialist after twenty-five, you have no head.

If you aren’t a liberal when you’re young, you have no heart, but if you aren’t a middle-aged conservative, you have no head.

Political terminology has changed over time, and it differs in distinct locales. Within the context of these sayings the terms “républicain”, “socialist”, and “liberal” were all on the left of the political spectrum. Would you please explore this complex topic?

Quote Investigator: The earliest strong match known to QI appeared in a history book titled “Histoire de la Révolution de 1870-71” by French literary figure Jules Claretie. The book included a reprint of a public 1872 letter from academic and politician Anselme Polycarpe Batbie who employed the saying. Interestingly, Batbie, credited the remark to “Burke”. Below is an excerpt in French followed by an English translation. Boldface has been added:^[1]1874, Histoire de la Révolution de 1870-71 par Jules Claretie, Livre Second, Chapitre 2, Comment on letter: Le Conservateur du Gers publiait à ce propos la lettre de M. Batbie (On this subject, the … Continue reading

Plusieurs de mes amis m’engageaient à répondre par le trait célèbre de Burke: « Celui qui n’est pas républicain à vingt ans fait douter de la générosité de son âme; mais celui qui, après trente ans, persévère, fait douter de la rectitude de son esprit. »

Several of my friends urged me to respond with Burke’s famous line: “Anyone who is not a republican at twenty casts doubt on the generosity of his soul; but he who, after thirty years, perseveres, casts doubt on the soundness of his mind.”

Batbie was probably referring to the statesman Edmund Burke who was noted for his support of the American Revolution and his later condemnation of the French Revolution. However, QI has not located the quotation under investigation in the writings of Burke. Anselme Batbie lived between 1828 and 1887.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

In 1799 a thematic precursor of this expression was attributed to John Adams who was the second president of the United States. The topic was a change in political viewpoint, but the remark did not contrast liberal versus conservative:^[2]1829, Memoir, Correspondence, and Miscellanies, from the Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Edited by Thomas Jefferson Randolph, Volume 4, Entry date: January 1799, Quote Page 509, F. Carr and Company, … Continue reading

A boy of fifteen who is not a democrat is good for nothing, and he is no better who is a democrat at twenty.

The statement above did not compare the sentiments of the heart and the head. Thus, it was a shorter and simpler statement.

A separate QI article focused on the quotation ascribed to Adams is available here.

Another precursor appeared in an 1861 book titled “La Loi des Révolutions” (“The Law of Revolutions”) by Justin Dromel. The author tentatively credited a simplified statement to French statesman and historian François Guizot. This instance also did not mention the heart and the head. Below is the pertinent passage in French and English:^[3]1861, La Loi des Révolutions: Les Générations, Les Nationalités – Les Dynasties, Les Religions (The Law of Revolutions: Generations, Nationalities – Dynasties, Religions) by Justin … Continue reading

Un homme d’Etat de 1830, Guizot, si nos souvenirs nous servent fidèlement, disait qu’il ne comprenait pas qu’un homme, âgé de moins de vingt-cinq ans, ne fût pas républicain, ni qu’un homme, ayant dépassé cet âge, le fût encore.

A statesman of 1830, Guizot, if our memories serve us faithfully, said that he did not understand why a man under the age of twenty-five, would not be a republican, nor why a man having exceeded that age would still be one.

As mentioned previously, an 1874 book by Jules Claretie reprinted an 1872 letter by Anselme Polycarpe Batbie that contained the saying under examination. In 1875 Claretie published the same quotation again within a book chapter about Batbie:^[4] 1875, Portraits Contemporains by Jules Claretie, Volume: 1, Chapter Topic: M. Casimir Périer, Start Page 51, Quote Page 55, Published by Librairie Illustrée, Paris. (Google Books Full View) link

The quotation appeared yet again in volume five of the “La Grande Encyclopédie” (“The Great Encyclopedia”) which was published circa 1888. The statement occurred within the entry for Batbie, and he received credit.^[5]La Grande Encyclopédie: Inventaire Raisonné Des Sciences, Des Lettres et Des Arts, (The Great Encyclopedia: A Systematic Inventory of Science, Letters, and the Arts), by Société de Savants et de … Continue reading

In 1905 a French history journal called “Revue d’Histoire Moderne et Contemporaine” published a review that included a version of the saying using a different phrasing. The words were attributed to an unnamed man:^[6]1905/1906, Revue d’Histoire Moderne et Contemporaine (1899-1914), Volume 7, Number 10, Les trois coups d’Etat de Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte. I. Strasbourg et Boulogne by André Lebey, … Continue reading

« Nous entendions dire dans notre enfance par un homme qui avait connu l’existence et qui n’etait pas sans esprit: « Celui qui n’est pas républicain à vingt ans révèle une bien vilaine âme; mais celui qui l’est encore à trente est un imbécile ». Aujourd’hui nous pourrions ajouter: ou un coquin ».

“We heard in our childhood from a man who had known life and was not without spirit: ‘He who is not a Republican at twenty reveals a very ugly soul; but he who is still a Republican at thirty is a fool.’ Today we could add: or a rascal ”.

In 1916 a book about developments in Mexico by Francisco Bulnes attributed an instance of the saying to the celebrated French literary figure Victor Hugo:^[7]1916, The Whole Truth about Mexico: President Wilson’s Responsibility by Francisco Bulnes, (Authorized Translation by Dora Scott), Quote Page 32, M. Bulnes Book Company, New York. (Google Books … Continue reading

One of the revolutionists, an honest, intelligent and perfectly sincere man, a real reformer, took up the well-known phrase of Victor Hugo: “If a man is not a republican at twenty, it is because he has no heart, and if he is one at forty, it is because he has no brains.” [1]
[Footnote 1] Madero par una de sus intimos p. 144.

In 1923 the “Wall Street Journal” credited King Oscar II of Sweden with a version of the remark using the word “socialist” instead of “républicain” or “republican”. The quote appeared as a freestanding short item under the title: “The truth in its proper use”:^[8] 1923 February 17, Wall Street Journal, The truth in its proper use, (Short freestanding item), Quote Page 2, New York. (ProQuest)

A man who has not been a socialist before 25 has no heart. If he remains one after 25 he has no head.—King Oscar II of Sweden

In 1927 an instance appeared in a letter written to a columnist in the “Boston Herald” newspaper of Boston, Massachusetts:^[9] 1927 May 23, Boston Herald, Everyday Questions Answered by Dr. S. Parkes Cadman, Quote Page 13, Column 3, Boston, Massachusetts. (GenealogyBank)

The late King Oscar II of Sweden is supposed to have said—or it may have been some one else: “If a man is not a Socialist at 20 be has no heart, but if he remains one at 30 he has no head.” What is your opinion?

By 1929 the saying had inspired the title of a play: “Before You’re 25” by Kenyon Nicholson which opened in New York and received a lukewarm review by a well-known drama critic:^[10]1929 April 28, Springfield Sunday Union and Republican (Springfield Republican), Plays and Players: Stage Needs Better and Newer Sawdust Babies by Burns Mantle, Quote Page 13F, Column 1, Springfield, … Continue reading

Another new play of the week is called “Before You’re 25,” based on some observing cynic’s remark that before you are 25 if you are not a Socialist you have no heart and after you’re 25 if you are a Socialist you have no head. Which is one of those yes and no conclusions dependent largely upon the sort of Socialist you happen to be.

An interesting and thematically connected statement was made by George Bernard Shaw when he delivered a speech at the University of Hong Kong in 1933:^[11] 1933 April 8, Montana Standard, A New Yorker at Large by Mark Barron, Quote Page 9, Rightmost column, Butte, Montana. (NewspaperArchive)

If you don’t begin to be a revolutionist at the age of twenty then at fifty you will be an impossible old fossil. If you are a red revolutionary at the age of twenty you have some chance of being up to date when you are forty

In 1936 a revised edition of “Benham’s Book of Quotations, Proverbs, and Household Words” was published, and it included an instance of the saying ascribed to François Guizot. Interestingly, this 1936 version mentioned the heart and head whereas the instance credited to Guizot in 1861 omitted the heart and head.

The compiler of the quotation book was Sir Gurney Benham, and he also stated that there was a variant expression ascribed to Georges Clemenceau:^[12]1936, Benham’s Book of Quotations Proverbs and Household Words, Compiled by Sir Gurney Benham, Completely Revised and Enlarged Edition, Quote Page 751a, Column 1, Published by Ward, Lock & … Continue reading

N’être pas republicain à vingt ans est preuve d’un manque de coeur; l’être après trente ans est preuve d’un manque de tête.—Not to be a republican at twenty is proof of want of heart; to be one at thirty is proof of want of head.

F. Guizot (1787-1874). (French statesman under Louis Philippe.) M. Clemenceau adapted this saying, substituting “socialiste” for “republicain.”

In 1943 the play mentioned in the 1929 citation was given a new staging, and the work was reviewed in the “Los Angeles Times”:^[13] 1943 February 26, Los Angeles Times, Nicholson Play Amuses by Katherine Von Blon, Quote Page 8, Column 4, Los Angeles, California. (ProQuest)

A bright little comedy of errors is Kenyon Nicholson’s “Before You’re Twenty-five,” now being presented at the Bliss-Hayden Theater by a zestful young cast…

Kenyon Nicholson rather predicates his play upon the theory that if you’re not a leftist or socialist before you’re 25, you have no heart; if you are one after 25 you have no head!

In 1944 the industrious anecdote collector Bennett Cerf presented an entertaining tale featuring Georges Clemenceau:^[14] 1944, Try and Stop Me by Bennett Cerf, Quote Page 258, Simon & Schuster, New York. (Verified on paper)

An excited supporter burst into the private chambers of the old tiger Clemenceau one day and cried, “Your son has just joined the Communist Party.” Clemenceau regarded his visitor calmly and remarked, “Monsieur, my son is 22 years old. If he had not become a Communist at 22, I would have disowned him. If he is still a Communist at 30, I will do it then.”

In 1946 the periodical “Commonweal” presented an instance of the saying and labeled it an aphorism:^[15]1946 September 20, Commonweal, Volume 44, Number 23, Book review by John C. Cort, (Book under review: “Tour of Duty” by John Dos Passos), Quote Page 556, Column 1, Commonweal Publishing … Continue reading

There is a foolish aphorism to the effect that “If you aren’t a socialist at twenty, you have no heart, and if you are a socialist at forty, you have no head.” Something like that. A facile saying, whipped up in a moment of inspiration by some ex-socialist press agent for the status quo.

In the 1960s student protests were rocking the universities in the U.S., and in 1970 a volume titled “Student Unrest: Threat or Promise?” was published. A version of the expression using the word “liberal” instead of “socialist” or “republican” was presented:^[16]1970, Student Unrest: Threat or Promise?, Edited by Richard L. Hart and J. Galen Saylor, Prepared by the ASCD Council on Secondary Education, NEA, The Student Movement and School Reform by Mario D. … Continue reading

Adolescent rebellion has been tolerated, and even sanctioned, as a “normal” stage of human development. After all, “if you aren’t a liberal when you’re young, you have no heart, but if you aren’t a middle-aged conservative, you have no head.”

In 1977 the popular compilation “Peter’s Quotations: Ideas for Our Time” included the saying with an ascription to a famous nineteenth-century British statesman:^[17] 1977, “Peter’s Quotations: Ideas for Our Time” by Laurence J. Peter, Section: Conservatives, Quote Page 131, William Morrow and Company, New York. (Verified on paper)

A man who is not a Liberal at sixteen has no heart; a man who is not a Conservative at sixty has no head.
—Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881)

In 1984 the “Wall Street Journal” reproduced the information provided in Laurence J. Peter’s book:^[18]1984 January 25, Wall Street Journal, Political Notes: Reagan & Co. Seek an Elusive Theme for Speech; Mondale Roasts in Florida; Glenn Stalls in North” by Robert W. Merry Staff (Reporter of … Continue reading

“A man who is not a liberal at 16 has no heart,” ventured British statesman Benjamin Disraeli, and “A man who is not a conservative at 60 has no head.” It is often true that younger citizens tend to be more liberal and that the older and more successful people become, the more conservative they become.

By 1986 the saying had implausibly moved to the lips of Winston Churchill as indicated by the following excerpt from the “The Hartford Courant” of Hartford, Connecticut:^[19] 1986 November 8, The Hartford Courant, Section: Editorials, Youth’s Narrow Vision, Quote Page B8, Column 1, Hartford, Connecticut. (ProQuest)

Winston S. Churchill supposedly once observed that anyone who was not a liberal at 20 years of age had no heart, while anyone who was still a liberal at 40 had no head. If there’s any truth to the observation, one wonders what to make of today’s college students.

In 2013 the political scientist Corey Robin wrote an engaging article in “The Chronicle Review” that discussed the perplexity of wrongly attributed statements and used the quotation being examined here as an example of the problem.^[20]2013 September 16, The Chronicle Review, (The Chronicle of Higher Education website), “Who Really Said That?” by Corey Robin, (Professor of political science at Brooklyn College of the … Continue reading

In conclusion, the earliest strong match known to QI appeared in a letter written by Anselme Batbie in 1872. Significantly, Batbie credited the remark to “Burke”, probably Edmund Burke. QI has not yet located this expression in the writings of Burke, and it is possible that Burke’s changing political behavior inspired the saying and not his words.

An important precursor was attributed to John Adams in 1799. This remark referred to “democracy”, but it did not mention the heart or head. Another important precursor was attributed to François Guizot in 1861. This statement referred to “républicain”, but it also did not mention the heart or head.

“Republican” is a translation of the French “républicain”. The versions of the expression using the words “socialist” and “liberal” were almost certainly derived directly or indirectly from the statement that was in circulation by 1872.

(Many thanks to Dr. Konstantin Dushenko of Moscow who told QI about the attribution to François Guizot in 1861 and about the reprint of Anselme Batbie’s 1872 letter. Thanks to researcher Fred R. Shapiro for including the 1799 attribution to John Adams in “The Yale Book of Quotations”. Also, thanks to Giorgi Edilashvili and MD Otley who pointed to the remark by Adams.

Thanks to Barry Popik for his valuable work examining this quotation. Many thanks to Dennis Lien for accessing and examining the 1936 and 1924 editions of “Benham’s Book of Quotations”. Special thanks to Steve Perisho and T.F. Mills for supplying translations from French to English. Any errors are the responsibility of QI. Additional thanks to T.F. Mills for supplying historical background information. Thanks to Victor Steinbok for pointing out additional citations and ascriptions. Additional thanks to Corey Robin.)

Update History: On June 4, 2021 some important citations were added: the 1799 attribution to John Adams of a precursor, the 1861 attribution to François Guizot of a precursor, and the 1874 reprint of Anselme Batbie’s 1872 letter. The article was extensively revised.