Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Serendipity

I think I would vote for him.

Montaigne quotes King Seleucus: "'he who knows the weight of a sceptre would not stoop to pick it up if he found it lying on the ground.'

Montaigne then goes on to say: "he [King Seleucus] said it thinking of the heavy and painful duties which are incumbent on a good king. Surely it is no small matter to have to govern others, when so many difficulties present themselves in governing ourselves. In this matter of commanding, which seems so delightsome, I am strongly of the opinion, --in view of the frailty of man's judgement and the difficulty of choice among novel and doubtful things, --that it is much easier and pleasanter to follow than to lead, and this it is great peace for the mind to have simply to pursue a beaten track and to be responsible for oneself alone.'"

Michel de Montaigne
Chapter XLII, Of the Inequality Between Us
The Essays of Montaigne
trans. George B. Ives


Who would be the ideal candidate? I would choose one who didn't want the job, but who would do his or her best, and then try to get out as quickly as possible.

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