"Be amusing: never tell unkind stories; above all, never tell long ones"
About this Quote
Disraeli’s line reads like party advice, but it’s really a compressed theory of power. As a Victorian statesman who lived by conversation as much as by policy, he treats storytelling not as self-expression but as governance in miniature: a social act with consequences. “Be amusing” is the surface imperative, yet it’s also a warning. In elite political culture, boredom is a kind of defeat, and attention is a finite resource you either command or surrender.
The double prohibition is where the subtext sharpens. “Never tell unkind stories” isn’t a hymn to niceness; it’s strategic restraint. Unkind anecdotes are easy applause that create long-term liabilities: they mark you as indiscreet, they harden factions, they tell the room you might weaponize intimacy. In a world of salons, newspapers, and rival patrons, cruelty travels faster than context. Disraeli is prescribing a form of reputational hygiene that doubles as political survival.
“Above all, never tell long ones” is the most ruthless clause because it admits what polite society won’t: the cardinal sin isn’t malice, it’s taking too much time. Length signals self-importance; it suggests you value your performance over the audience’s comfort. Disraeli’s hierarchy is revealing: cruelty can sometimes be forgiven as heat-of-the-moment; tedium is structural.
Context matters too. Disraeli rose as an outsider in a class-conscious system, and his wit was both armor and ladder. The quote distills the technique: charm without casualties, brevity as respect, and amusement as a tool for moving through rooms where decisions are quietly made.
The double prohibition is where the subtext sharpens. “Never tell unkind stories” isn’t a hymn to niceness; it’s strategic restraint. Unkind anecdotes are easy applause that create long-term liabilities: they mark you as indiscreet, they harden factions, they tell the room you might weaponize intimacy. In a world of salons, newspapers, and rival patrons, cruelty travels faster than context. Disraeli is prescribing a form of reputational hygiene that doubles as political survival.
“Above all, never tell long ones” is the most ruthless clause because it admits what polite society won’t: the cardinal sin isn’t malice, it’s taking too much time. Length signals self-importance; it suggests you value your performance over the audience’s comfort. Disraeli’s hierarchy is revealing: cruelty can sometimes be forgiven as heat-of-the-moment; tedium is structural.
Context matters too. Disraeli rose as an outsider in a class-conscious system, and his wit was both armor and ladder. The quote distills the technique: charm without casualties, brevity as respect, and amusement as a tool for moving through rooms where decisions are quietly made.
Quote Details
| Topic | Witty One-Liners |
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