It is difficult for a statesman who still has a political future to reveal everything that he knows: and in a profession in which one is a baby at 50 and middle-aged at seventy-five, it is natural that anyone who has not actually been disgraced should feel that he still has a future.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Statesmen often hide knowledge to protect their careers, and in a slow-moving political profession, they naturally feel they still have time ahead unless ruined.
- In plain terms
- Politicians keep secrets to stay in power and feel they still have a future unless they are disgraced.
- What can you take from it?
- Career self-interest often overrides full transparency in politics.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- When should leaders reveal hard truths?
- How does career fear shape policy?
Another view
Not all statesmen prioritize future over truth.
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