On the record
There is a cynical doctrine that most men would rather be accused of wickedness than of gaucherie.
Said by
Walter Bagehot
Source
gutenberg.orgThere is a cynical doctrine that most men would rather be accused of wickedness than of gaucherie.
Bagehot discusses a cynical view of human nature regarding the fear of being perceived as clumsy over being wicked.
Share
More from Walter Bagehot
Savages waste away before modern civilisation; they seem to have held their ground before the ancient.
I do not think I put this too high when I say that a most important if not the most important object of early legislation was the enforcement of LUCKY rites.
But all men heed great results, and a change of Government is a great result.
There is no ELASTIC element, everything is rigid, specified, dated.