On the record
The military habit makes man think far too much of definite action, and far too little of brooding meditation.
Said by
Walter Bagehot
Source
gutenberg.orgWalter Bagehot: “The military habit makes man think far too much of definite action, and far too little of brooding meditation.”
Editor's note · Context
Bagehot argues that military thinking overly emphasizes action at the expense of thoughtful reflection.
Share
More from Walter Bagehot
But it is natural also that persons used to analyse political institutions should look at these anomalies with a little tenderness and a little interest.
I own that I do not entirely sympathise with the horror of these anomalies which haunts some of our best critics.
I cannot, therefore, join in the full cry against anomalies; in my judgment it may quickly overrun the scent, and so miss what we should be glad to find.
These anomalies, in a hundred instances, mark the old boundaries of a constitutional struggle.
Other voices in this conversation
