James Russell Lowell Quotes

I saw Mr. Lincoln a number of times during the canvass for his second election. The characteristic which struck me most was his superabundance of common sense. His power of managing men, of deciding and avoiding difficult questions, surpassed that of any man I ever met.

The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him.

The first requirement of a statesman is that he be dull.

That was my first lesson from Ben-Gurion. Then I saw him making peace, and I saw him making war. He mobilized me before the war. The man was a very rare combination between a real intellectual and a born leader. There is a contradiction between the two.

The most brilliant statesman who ever lived, possessing the loftiest and keenest intellect of his time.

All good Presidents are supple.

Wisdom ofttimes consists of knowing what to do next.

The genius of a good leader is to leave behind him a situation which common sense, without the grace of genius, can deal with successfully.

The verdict on Prince Metternich will soon be out: An excellent diplomat and a bad politician.

Common sense is better than genius, and hence its bestowment is more universal.

The heart of a statesman should be in his head.

High politic is only common sense applied to great things.

Great statesmen seem to direct and rule by a sort of power to put themselves in the place of the nation over which they are set, and may thus be said to possess the souls of poets at the same time they display the coarser sense and the more vulgar sagacity of practical men of business.

Compromise makes a good umbrella, but a poor roof; it is temporary expedient, often wise in party politics, almost sure to be unwise in statesmanship.

A politician is a man who understands government. A statesman is a politician who's been dead for 15 years.

Genius ain't anything more than elegant common sense.

A constitutional statesman is in general a man of common opinions and uncommon abilities.

Statesmanship is harder than politics. Politics is the art of getting along with people, whereas statesmanship is the art of getting along with politicians.

The more I have studied Lincoln, the more I have followed his thought processes, the more I am convinced that he understood leadership better than any other American president.

One man with a head on his shoulders is worth a dozen without.

A statesman who keeps his ear permanently glued to the ground will have neither elegance of posture nor flexibility of movement.

Napoleon was probably the equal at least of Washington in intellect, his superior in education. Both of them were successful in serving the state.

The main essentials of a successful prime minister are sleep and a sense of history.

He's a tremendous guy. And what's more, he's virtually a genius in the field of management.

He has the best political mind of all the generals I have.