"We ask advice, but we mean approbation"
About this Quote
Advice is the polite costume we dress our vanity in. Colton’s line skewers a social ritual that still feels painfully current: the “seeking counsel” that is really a request for applause. The bite comes from the blunt pivot on “but.” It collapses the distance between our stated intention (to be guided) and our hidden craving (to be endorsed), turning a supposedly humble act into a subtle power play.
Colton wrote in a culture of salons, patronage, and reputational economy, where manners were currency and direct self-assertion was often taboo. “We ask advice” performs modesty; it signals openness, reasonableness, even moral seriousness. Yet “we mean approbation” exposes the transaction underneath: we want our choice pre-blessed so we can proceed without doubt, and, crucially, without responsibility. If things go well, we were wise; if they go badly, we were “misled.” The quote isn’t only cynical about individuals; it’s diagnostic of a society where social harmony depends on indirectness, and where disagreement risks status loss.
The phrasing is tight and prosecutorial: “ask” versus “mean,” public script versus private motive. “Approbation” is an old-fashioned word with a bureaucratic chill, suggesting formal sign-off rather than warm support. That choice matters. Colton isn’t describing the occasional insecure friend; he’s describing a recurring human strategy: outsourcing conviction to the crowd while pretending to consult it.
Colton wrote in a culture of salons, patronage, and reputational economy, where manners were currency and direct self-assertion was often taboo. “We ask advice” performs modesty; it signals openness, reasonableness, even moral seriousness. Yet “we mean approbation” exposes the transaction underneath: we want our choice pre-blessed so we can proceed without doubt, and, crucially, without responsibility. If things go well, we were wise; if they go badly, we were “misled.” The quote isn’t only cynical about individuals; it’s diagnostic of a society where social harmony depends on indirectness, and where disagreement risks status loss.
The phrasing is tight and prosecutorial: “ask” versus “mean,” public script versus private motive. “Approbation” is an old-fashioned word with a bureaucratic chill, suggesting formal sign-off rather than warm support. That choice matters. Colton isn’t describing the occasional insecure friend; he’s describing a recurring human strategy: outsourcing conviction to the crowd while pretending to consult it.
Quote Details
| Topic | Witty One-Liners |
|---|---|
| Source | Lacon; or, Many Things in Few Words (1820) , aphorism attributed to Charles Caleb Colton: "We ask advice, but we mean approbation." |
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