"The most dangerous thing in the world is to try to leap a chasm in two jumps"
About this Quote
The line’s intent is managerial and moral at once. As a wartime prime minister and a master of coalition arithmetic, Lloyd George understood how often leaders try to satisfy irreconcilable pressures by splitting the difference. The subtext is a warning to colleagues who want the optics of reform without paying its costs: partial measures can be more destabilizing than decisive ones, because they provoke backlash while failing to secure the benefits that would justify the upheaval.
It’s also a lesson about timing. “Two jumps” implies a pause midair, a moment to reconsider after launching. That’s the delusion he’s mocking. Once you’ve begun a large transition - constitutional change, peace terms, economic restructuring - you don’t get a safe platform to stand on while you debate your next move. The rhetoric works because it makes political hesitation feel like physics: gravity doesn’t negotiate, and neither do crises.
Quote Details
| Topic | Decision-Making |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
George, David Lloyd. (2026, January 17). The most dangerous thing in the world is to try to leap a chasm in two jumps. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-most-dangerous-thing-in-the-world-is-to-try-47862/
Chicago Style
George, David Lloyd. "The most dangerous thing in the world is to try to leap a chasm in two jumps." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-most-dangerous-thing-in-the-world-is-to-try-47862/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"The most dangerous thing in the world is to try to leap a chasm in two jumps." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-most-dangerous-thing-in-the-world-is-to-try-47862/. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.










