The right honourable gentleman [Sir Robert Peel] tells us to go back to precedents; with him a great measure is always founded on a small precedent. He traces the steam-engine always back to the tea-kettle. His precedents are generally tea-kettle precedents.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Relying on old precedents to justify major changes is trivial and weak.
- In plain terms
- He compares big ideas to tiny old examples, like engines to kettles.
- What can you take from it?
- Don't justify big reforms with trivial past examples.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Can old examples justify new changes?
- Is tradition a valid guide for policy?
Another view
Sometimes precedents provide necessary stability for large changes.
More from Benjamin Disraeli
It is well-known what a middleman is: he is a man who bamboozles one party and plunders the other.
Permalink to quote #12 Things must be done by parties, not by persons using parties as tools.
Permalink to quote #14 Protection is not a principle, but an expedient.
Permalink to quote #11
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