Sweet is the voice of a sister in the season of sorrow.
Benjamin DisraeliRead
Everyone likes flattery; and when you come to Royalty you should lay it on with a trowel.
Interpretation
Flattery is often expected, especially among those in power, and should be given generously.
This quote by Benjamin Disraeli humorously underscores the idea that those in positions of authority, such as royalty, often appreciate and even expect excessive praise. It suggests that to navigate such relationships successfully, one should be prepared to indulge in such flattery, metaphorically using a 'trowel' to emphasize the need for generous application.
In practice
In a speech about leadership, one might quote Disraeli to illustrate how leaders often thrive on flattery.
Sweet is the voice of a sister in the season of sorrow.
But what minutes! Count them by sensation, and not by calendars, and each moment is a day.
Grief is the agony of an instant. The indulgence of grief the blunder of a life.
Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action.
Yes, I am a Jew and when the ancestors of the right honorable gentleman were brutal savages in an unknown island, mine were priests in the temple of Solomon.
The practice of politics in the East may be defined by one word: dissimulation.
Can't act. Can't sing. Slightly bald. Can dance a little.
No matter what she did with her hair it took about three minutes for it to tangle itself up again, like a garden hosepipe in a shed [Which, no matter how carefully coiled, will always uncoil overnight and tie the lawnmower to the bicycles].
I have a few cavities. I don't like to call them cavities, though - I like to call them 'places to put stuff'. 'Do you know where I can store a pea' 'Yes, I have some locations available.'
I remain just one thing, and one thing only - and that is a clown. It places me on a far higher plane than any politician.
Do I perform sometimes in a manic style? Yes. Am I manic all the time? No. Do I get sad? Oh yeah. Does it hit me hard? Oh yeah.
I don't see the point of doing comedy unless it comes from pain.
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