Dean Inge Quotes
A man may build himself a throne of bayonets, but he cannot sit on it.
William Ralph Inge, 1860-1954, British Anglican Prelate & Dean of St. Paul's, Quoted in Marchant, The Wit and Wisdom of Dean Inge
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
In this case, he was referring to the situation with the Barbary Pirates who had an incredible extortion racket going in the Mediterranean. If nations would pay them an annual sum each year, they would not attack and seize merchant ships of that country and sell the ships and goods while holding the sailors for ransom. Jefferson favored and authorized war—a naval attack which for many reasons the European nations had not done (they just paid the tribute). Then a peace treaty was finally signed—the first American Treaty.
Holland was officially Napoleon’s ally, but he and the French military leaders were not satisfied with the military or logistical support they were getting from the Dutch. Field Marshal Marmont was sent to Holland to “improve” the situation. When one of his demands seemed excessive a delegation of leading Dutch politicians met with him and reminded him that Holland was a sovereign country and France military officers could not issue orders in Holland. This was his famous response.
William Ralph Inge KCVO FBA (/ˈɪŋ/; was an English author, Anglican priest, professor of divinity at Cambridge, and Dean of St Paul's Cathedral, which provided the appellation by which he was widely known, Dean Inge. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature three times.
