Because he said it better than I can...

[davywavy]

“I find this most astonishing in the writings of intellectuals; they plead their inability to steer the ship when the sea is calm, because they have never been taught or never cared to acquire such knowledge; and yet they proclaim that they will take the helm when the waves are at their highest! Those gentlemen openly admit, and indeed take great pride in the fact, that they have never learned and do not teach anything about how to set up or maintain a government; they think that expertise in such matters does not befit ‘learned and philosophical men’ and should be left to people with practical experience in that sort of thing. So what sense does it make to promise assistance to the government when driven to do so, when they cannot manage a much easier task, namely to administer government when there is no compelling crisis at hand? Even if it were true that the sage does not voluntarily deign to descend to the technicalities of statecraft, and yet does not shirk that duty if forced to by circumstances, I should still think it quite wrong of him to neglect the art of politics; he ought to have everything at his fingertips, for he never knows when he may have to use it. It is better for him to have the skills and never need them, rather than never to learn the skills, and be found wanting later.”

Cicero; “The Republic” Book 1, chapter 11.

Comments

[winterthing.livejournal.com]

Y'know...I've been thinking that too...

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

What, that he said it better than I could :)

[borusa.livejournal.com]

I still haven't recovered after seeing someone claim that management was ordering people about.

I laughed for a week.

It annoys me that, certainly prior to your term as NC, we lurched from crisis to crisis without any thought to (a) putting in place procedures to deal with crises _before_ they arrive or (b) the somewhat hereticaly thought of avoiding them completely.

Planning.
Negotiation.
Discussion.
Organisation.
Management.

They aren't swear words.

Re:

[winterthing.livejournal.com]

Well...that too...

*grins*

[robinbloke.livejournal.com]

They are words that are extremely easy to make Oxymorons from, however ;)

[kathminchin.livejournal.com]

Also

Delegation
Compromise
Responsibility
Communication

[unifex.livejournal.com]

Maybe it should be remembered, however, that this is the self same gentleman that got assassinated for making uch comments... And was one ofthe more self indulgent whingers of the Late Republic... Very rarely willing to put his money where his mouth was.

-SOmeone that had to read and study far too much Cicero.

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

yeah, but he whinged in a really well written, lucid way.

Re:

[unifex.livejournal.com]

Yeah, OK, I'll give you that. Most of the time, anyway...