Pithy Political Maxims

Frantic research in the House of Commons Library was unable to unearth an earlier use than one by the short-lived 1950s socialist prime minister of France, Pierre Mendes-France, to whom I uneasily attributed it. I discover from this admirable volume that I should of course, have credited the Duc de Levis (1764-1830).

In other words, this is not merely an excellent work, but it fills a serious gap. While there have been one or two quite good American dictionaries of political quotations, they are firmly focused on American politics; and until now there has been nothing of that quality published on this side of the Atlantic. For the politicians, too, the classic Oxford Dictionary of Quotations has always been a particular disappointment, with its heavy bias in favour of verse. Most quotable political sayings are, unsurprisingly, in prose.

 

If its pioneering status makes it especially valuable, it also means that this new dictionary cannot be the last word, but rather a serious opening bid inviting