Even when you are right, it is good to make concessions: people will recognize you were right but admire your courtesy. More is lost through holding on than can be won by defeating others. One defends not truth but rudeness.
[Aun en caso de evidencia, es ingenuidad el ceder, que no se ignora la razón que tuvo y se conoce la galantería que tiene. Más se pierde con el arrimamiento que se puede ganar con el vencimiento; no es defender la verdad, sino la grosería.]
Baltasar Gracián y Morales (1601-1658) Spanish Jesuit priest, writer, philosopher
The Art of Worldly Wisdom [Oráculo Manual y Arte de Prudencia], § 183 (1647) [tr. Maurer (1992)]
(Source)
(Source (Spanish)). Alternate translations:It is civil to yield, even in those things wherein we have greatest reason and certainty: for then all know, who had reason on their side: and besides the reason, Gallantry is also discovered in the procedure. There is more esteem lost, by a wilfull resistence, then there is got by carrying it by open force. For that is not so much a defending of truth, as a demonstration of Clownishness.
[Flesher ed. (1685)]Even in cases of obvious certainty it is fine to yield: our reasons for holding the view cannot escape notice, our courtesy in yielding must be the more recognised. Our obstinacy loses more than our victory yields: that is not to champion truth but rather rudeness.
[tr. Jacobs (1892)]Even with the proof on your side, it is well to make concession, for your reasons are known and your gentlemanliness is recognized; more is lost in contention than can be gained in consummation, for such does not defend the truth, but only exhibits bad manners.
[tr. Fischer (1937)]
Quotations about:
stubborn
Note not all quotations have been tagged, so Search may find additional quotes on this topic.
Even furious Juno, now plaguing the land and sea and sky
with terror: she will mend her ways and hold dear with me
these Romans, lords of the earth, the race arrayed in togas.
This is my pleasure, my decree.[Quin aspera Iuno,
quae mare nunc terrasque metu caelumque fatigat,
consilia in melius referet, mecumque fovebit
Romanos rerum dominos gentemque togatam:
sic placitum.]Virgil (70-19 BC) Roman poet [b. Publius Vergilius Maro; also Vergil]
The Aeneid [Ænē̆is], Book 1, l. 279ff (1.279-283) [Jupiter] (29-19 BC) [tr. Fagles (2006), l. 335ff]
(Source)
Juno favored Carthage, thus her plotting against Aeneas. Jupiter, early on in the story, decrees to Venus (Aeneas' mother) that Juno will come around and love those wacky toga-wearers. (Source (Latin)). Alternate translations:Sterne June, here
Who now earth, Seas, and skies, wearies with fear,
Shall better counsels take, with us imbrace
The Romans Lords of all, and the gownd race.
[tr. Ogilby (1649)]Ev'n haughty Juno, who, with endless broils,
Earth, seas, and heav'n, and Jove himself turmoils;
At length aton'd, her friendly pow'r shall join,
To cherish and advance the Trojan line.
The subject world shall Rome's dominion own,
And, prostrate, shall adore the nation of the gown.
[tr. Dryden (1697)]And even sullen Juno, who now, through jealous fear, creates endless disturbance to sea, and earth, and heaven, shall change her counsels for the better, and join with me in befriending the Romans, lords of the world, and the nation of the gown. Such is my pleasure.
[tr. Davidson/Buckley (1854)]Nay Juno's self, whose wild alarms
Set ocean, earth, and heaven in arms,
Shall change for smiles her moody frown,
And vie with me in zeal to crown
Rome's sons, the nation of the gown.
[tr. Conington (1866)]Nay, harsh Juno, who disturbs
With fear the sea and land and shy, will change
Her counsels for the better, and with me
Cherish the Romans, masters of affairs.
The toga'd nation. Such is my decree.
[tr. Cranch (1872)]Nay, harsh Juno, who in her fear now troubles earth and sea and sky, shall change to better counsels, and with me shall cherish the lords of the world, the gowned race of Rome. Thus is it willed.
[tr. Mackail (1885)]Yea, Juno, hard of heart,
Who wearieth now with fear of her the heavens and earth and sea,
Shall gather better counsel yet, and cherish them with me;
The Roman folk, the togaed men, lords of all worldly ways.
Such is the doom.
[tr. Morris (1900)]Nay, Juno, too, who now, in mood malign,
Earth, sea and sky is harrying, shall incline
To better counsels, and unite with me
To cherish and uphold the imperial line,
The Romans, rulers of the land and sea,
Lords of the flowing gown. So standeth my decree.
[tr. Taylor (1907), st. 37, l. 328ff]Yea, even my Queen,
Juno, who now chastiseth land and sea
with her dread frown, will find a wiser way,
and at my sovereign side protect and bless
the Romans, masters of the whole round world,
who, clad in peaceful toga, judge mankind.
Such my decree!
[tr. Williams (1910)]Nay, harsh Juno, who now in her fear troubles sea and earth and sky, shall change to better counsels and with me cherish the Romans, lords of the world, and the nation of the gown. Thus is it decreed.
[tr. Fairclough (1916)]Even bitter Juno
Whose fear now harries earth and sea and heaven
Will change to better counsels, and will cherish
The race that wears the toga, Roman masters
Of all the world. It is decreed.
[tr. Humphries (1951)]Even the spiteful Juno,
Who in her fear now troubles the earth, the sea and the sky,
Shall think better of this and join me in fostering
The cause of the Romans, the lords of creation, the togaed people.
Thus it is written.
[tr. Day Lewis (1952)]Then even bitter Juno shall be changed;
for she, who now harasses lands and heavens
with terror, then shall hold the Romans dear
together with me, cherishing the masters
of all things, and the race that wears the toga.
This is what I decree.
[tr. Mandelbaum (1971), l. 391ff]Juno, indeed, whose bitterness now fills
With fear and torment sea and earth and sky,
Will mend her ways, and favor them as I do,
Lords of the world, the toga-bearing Romans.
Such is our pleasure.
[tr. Fitzgerald (1981), l. 376ff]Even angry Juno, who is now wearying sea and land and sky with her terrors, will come to better counsel and join with me in cherishing the people of Rome, the rulers of the world, the race that wears the toga. So it has been decreed.
[tr. West (1990)]Why, harsh Juno
who now torments land, and sea and sky with fear,
will respond to better judgement, and favour the Romans,
masters of the world, and people of the toga, with me.
So it is decreed.
[tr. Kline (2002)]Even Juno, who in her site and fear
Now vexes earth, sea, and sky, shall adopt
A better view, wand with me cherish the Romans,
Lords of the world, the people of the toga.
That is my pleasure.
[tr. Lombardo (2005)]Even cruel Juno, terror of the land and sea and sky, will change her plans and (like me) favor Romans: people of the toga, rulers of the world. So I've decreed.
[tr. Bartsch (2021)]
A bore: Someone who persists in holding to his own views after we have enlightened him with ours.
Malcolm Forbes (1919-1990) American billionaire
(Attributed)
Quoted in Ted Goodman, ed., The Forbes Book of Business Quotations (1997).
An easygoing vice, I hold,
Is better than an angry virtue.[J’aime mieux un vice commode,
Qu’une fatigante vertu.]
Molière (1622-1673) French playwright, actor [stage name for Jean-Baptiste Poquelin]
Amphitryon, Act 1, sc. 4, l. 681-2 [Mercury] (1666) [tr. Wilbur (2010)]
(Source)
Alt. trans.:
- "I prefer an accommodating vice / To an obstinate virtue."
- "I prefer a convenient vice, to a fatiguing virtune." [tr. Waller (1903)]
- Original French.
For when the water is up to your neck you must be truly stubborn not to cry for help.
[Che chi ne l’acqua sta fin’alla gola
Ben’e ostinato se merce non grida.]Ludovico Ariosto (1474-1533) Italian poet
Orlando Furioso, Canto 1, st. 50, l. 353 (1532) [tr. Waldman]
Alt. trans.:
- "For who, when circling waters round him spread / And menace present death, impores not aid?" [tr. Hoole (1807)]
- "For the poor drowning caitiff, who, chin-deep, / Implores not help, is obstinate indeed." [tr. Rose (1831)]
- "The drowning man who waits to be exhorted / To cry for help must be a man of pride!" [tr. Reynolds (2006)]
You know, here in America we’re loyal to our flaws. It’s like, if we change even our flaws there’s something wrong.
William "Bill" Maher (b. 1956) American comedian, political commentator, critic, television host.
“Bill Maher, Incorrect American Patriot,” Interview with Sharon Waxman, Washington Post (8 Nov 2002)
(Source)
That’s not a nuts thing, that’s a “humans hate to admit error even as they stand there, black and smoldering, with the stub of a cigarette in one hand, in the middle of a wide crater containing them and the remains of a sign that once read ‘DANGER: VOLATILE EXPLOSIVES'” thing. It’s pretty universal.
James Nicoll (b. 1961) Canadian reviewer, editor
“Proposal for a new FAQ or two,” rec.arts.sf.written, Usenet (10 Jun 2005)
(Source)
‘Tis known by the name of perseverance in a good cause — and of obstinacy in a bad one.
Laurence Sterne (1713-1786) Anglo-Irish novelist, Anglican clergyman
Tristam Shandy, 1.17 (1759-67)
See Browne.
‘Tis Perseverance that prevails.
Thomas Fuller (1654-1734) English physician, preacher, aphorist, writer
Gnomologia: Adages and Proverbs, #5110 (1732)
(Source)
Earthly minds, like mud walls, resist the strongest batteries: and though, perhaps, sometimes the force of a clear argument may make some impression, yet they nevertheless stand firm, and keep out the enemy, truth, that would captivate or disturb them. Tell a man passionately in love that he is jilted; bring a score of witnesses of the falsehood of his mistress, it is ten to one but three kind words of hers shall invalidate all their testimonies.
John Locke (1632-1704) English philosopher
An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Book 4, ch. 20, “Of Wrong Assent, or Error” (1690)
Wooden-headedness consists of assessing a situation in terms of preconceived, fixed notions while ignoring or rejecting any contrary signs. It is acting according to wish while not allowing oneself to be confused by the facts.
Barbara W. Tuchman (1912-1989) American historian and author
“An Inquiry into the Persistence of Unwisdom in Government,” Esquire (1980)
The worst thing about stupidity is its insistency.
(Other Authors and Sources)
“Sam’s Despair,” in John Peers, comp., 1,001 Logical Laws (1979)
Single-mindedness is all very well in cows or baboons; in an animal claiming to belong to the same species as Shakespeare it is simply disgraceful.
Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) English novelist, essayist and critic
Do What You Will (1929)
Rain was coming down in sheets. I could hear it, on the concrete outside and on the old building above me. It creaked and swayed in the spring thunderstorm and the wind, timbers gently flexing, wise enough with age to give a little, rather than put up stubborn resistance until they broke. I could probably stand to learn something from that.
Jim Butcher (b. 1971) American author
Storm Front, ch. 17 (2000)
‘Tis a lesson you should heed,
Try, try again;
If at first you don’t succeed,
Try, try again.(Other Authors and Sources)
T. H. Palmer, “Try, Try Again,” The Teacher’s Manual (1840)
(Source)
Sometimes attributed to Charles Theodore Hart Palmer (1827-1897), but the book is clearly by Thomas H. Palmer, and was published in 1840 when Charles T. H. Palmer was 13 years old.
Stupidity … is nature’s favorite resource for preserving steadiness of conduct and consistency of opinion.
Walter Bagehot (1826-1877) British businessman, essayist, journalist
Letter to London Inquirer (1851)
Arguments only confirm people in their own opinions.
Booth Tarkington (1869-1946) American novelist and dramatist
Looking Forward to the Great Adventure (1926)
There is no method more likely to cure passion and rashness, than the frequent and attentive consideration of one’s own weaknesses: this will work into the mind an habitual sense of the need one has of being pardoned, and will bring down the swelling pride and obstinacy of heart, which are the cause of hasty passion.
James Burgh (1714-1775) British politician and writer
The Dignity of Human Nature, Sec. 5 “Miscellaneous Thoughts on Prudence in Conversation” (1754)
(Source)
I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it.
George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) British playwright and critic
(Attributed)
A man who never alters his opinion is like standing water, and breeds reptiles of the mind.
William Blake (1757-1827) English poet, mystic, artist
The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, “A Memorable Fancy” (1790)
(Source)
This imputation of inconsistency is one to which every sound politician and every honest thinker must sooner or later subject himself. The foolish and the dead alone never change their opinions.
James Russell Lowell (1819-1891) American diplomat, essayist, poet
“Abraham Lincoln” (1864), My Study Windows (1871)
(Source)
Frightful this is in a sense, but it is true, and every one who has merely some little knowledge of the human heart can verify it: there is nothing to which a man holds so desperately as to his sin.
Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) Danish philosopher, theologian
Three Discourses at the Communion on Fridays
Faced with the choice between changing one’s mind and proving there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the proof.
John Kenneth Galbraith (1908-2006) Canadian-American economist, diplomat, author
Economics, Peace and Laughter (1971)
(Source)
(also called "Galbraith's Law")
