Category Archives: Maxims

Words of Wisdom

Posted on March 22, 2020 by Quentin

I had a telephone call this morning from my son. He wanted me to know that he had got back to the UK following his lecture tour in the Australian universities. He is one of our leading romano–british historians. It … Continue reading →

Posted in Maxims, Quentin queries | 57 Comments

de la Bédoyère’s Maxims No 11

Posted on October 2, 2008 by Quentin

1 Words are like carpenter’s tools. Keep them sharp and use them precisely. 2 Words are like carpenter’s tools. You do not need many of them, but you must have enough to suit them to the job in hand. 3 … Continue reading →

Posted in Maxims | 4 Comments

de la Bédoyère’s Maxims No 10

Posted on September 18, 2008 by Quentin

1 It may be a great benefit to be a jack of all trades and a master of none. The specialist bores one very deep hole, the generalist knows how the holes relate to each other. Which is why so … Continue reading →

Posted in Maxims, Philosophy, Uncategorized | 6 Comments

de la Bédoyère’s Maxims No 9

Posted on September 4, 2008 by Quentin

We cannot judge a man’s virtues since we do not know his starting point. And the best we can do with our own is to make a crude judgment about whether we are progressing or regressing. Optimism is a survival … Continue reading →

Posted in Maxims, Philosophy | 9 Comments

de la Bédoyère’s Maxims No 8

Posted on August 22, 2008 by Quentin

The greatest iniquities are committed in the name of obedience.   Obedience is an evolutionary adaptation; society needs the majority to be conformists just as it needs a minority – the people who excel – to lead it.   If … Continue reading →

Posted in Maxims | 17 Comments

de la Bédoyère’s Maxims, No 7

Posted on July 23, 2008 by Quentin

We have evolved to act on first impressions: without them we might have had no second impressions. It has been estimated that we make thousands of unconscious judgments within the first moments of meeting. Many are wrong. It is well … Continue reading →

Posted in Maxims, Uncategorized | 4 Comments

de la Bédoyère’s Maxims, No 6

Posted on July 9, 2008 by Quentin

Bureaucrats understand their function, but they do not understand the purpose of their function. For the bureaucrat ‘I think therefore I am’ becomes ‘I refuse therefore I am’. It is only necessary to move from market forces to a bureaucracy … Continue reading →

Posted in Maxims, Philosophy | 4 Comments

de la Bédoyère’s Maxims, No 5

Posted on June 26, 2008 by Quentin

  Experts, even with rows of initials after their names to prove it, consistently know less than they pretend or believe that they know. You cannot judge how much an expert knows by what he chooses to tell you – … Continue reading →

Posted in Maxims, Philosophy | 8 Comments

de la Bédoyère’s Maxims, No 4

Posted on June 13, 2008 by Quentin

Mankind lives by faith. If he does not believe what is reasonable to believe he will believe what is unreasonable to believe. To encounter another person requires as act of faith; all we can demonstrate are the mechanical messages of … Continue reading →

Posted in Maxims, Philosophy | 7 Comments

de la Bédoyère’s Maxims, No. 3

Posted on May 29, 2008 by Quentin

Many great changes in society have only come about because they were introduced by extremists and fanatics, repudiated by those they claimed to represent. To use considerate language is only good manners and a sign of sensitivity to others’ feelings. … Continue reading →

Posted in Maxims, Philosophy | 6 Comments