I turned on the pillow with a little moan, and at this juncture Jeeves entered with the vital oolong. I clutched at it like a drowning man at a straw hat.
P. G. WodehouseRead
Golf acts as a corrective against sinful pride. I attribute the insane arrogance of the later Roman Emperors almost entirely to the fact that, never having played golf, they never knew that strange chastening humility which is engendered by a topped chip shot. If Cleopatra had been ousted in the first round of the Ladies' Singles, we should have heard a lot less of her proud imperiousness.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Golf can teach humility and temper arrogance.
In this quote, P. G. Wodehouse suggests that the game of golf has a unique ability to instill humility in players, contrasting it with the pride seen in historical figures like the Roman Emperors. He humorously credits golf as a corrective to arrogance, positing that even Cleopatra would have shown less pride if she had experienced the humbling moments that the sport can provide, such as failing at an easy shot.
Themes
GolfHumilityPrideArroganceSports
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about teamwork, this quote could illustrate the importance of humility.
More from P. G. Wodehouse
All quotes →While not exactly disgruntled, he was far from feeling gruntled. He spoke with a certain what-is-it in his voice, and I could see that, if not actually disgruntled, he was far from being gruntled.
P. G. WodehouseRead
She fitted into my biggest arm-chair as if it had been built round her by someone who knew they were wearing arm-chairs tight about the hips that season
P. G. WodehouseRead
It was a nasty look. It made me feel as if I were something the dog had brought in and intended to bury later on, when he had time.
P. G. WodehouseRead
Memories are like mulligatawny soup in a cheap restaurant. It is wiser not to stir them.
P. G. WodehouseRead
It was a confusion of ideas between him and one of the lions he was hunting in Kenya that had caused A. B. Spottsworth to make the obituary column. He thought the lion was dead, and the lion thought it wasn't.
P. G. WodehouseRead
Similar quotes
You know when you're sitting on a chair and you lean back so you're just on two legs and you lean too far so you almost fall over but at the last second you catch yourself? I feel like that all the time.
Steven WrightRead
The dog has got more fun out of Man than Man has got out of the dog, for the clearly demonstrable reason that Man is the more laughable of the two animals.
James ThurberRead
First you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes you.
F. Scott FitzgeraldRead
He burned his house down for the fire insurance and spent the proceeds on a telescope.
Robert FrostRead
Comedians walk out, get a feel for the crowd. If it's not going good, we change directions. If we got to drag your momma into this thing, we will. Whatever we got to do.
Steve HarveyRead
I don't know much about being a millionaire, but I'll bet I'd be darling at it.
Dorothy ParkerRead