[PW] Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand -Périgord Quo te on Lions and Sheep

[swguardian-wombat at yahoo.com]

It is better to have a lion at the head of an army of sheep, 
than a sheep at the head of an army of lions. 
   
  This quote supposedly resides in: 
   
  The Life and Adventures of Mrs. Christian Davies, commonly called Mother Ross
  The authorship ... has, on no reasonable grounds, been sometimes attributed to Defoe --Dict. Nat. Biog. I do not believe 
   
  Here is the full title which gives a synopsis.
   
  The life and adventures of Mrs. Christian Davies, commonly call'd Mother Ross; 
  who, in the habit of a man, served as a foot-soldier and dragoon in several campaigns 
  under King William and the Duke of Marlborough, and gave such signal proofs of her courage, strength, and dexterity, as surpriz'd the whole Army; for which she was often honoured with presents from the general officers, and afterwards made a pensioner of Chelsea-College by Queen Anne, where she continued till her death, which happen'd on 
  July 7, 1739. London, Printed for T. Cooper. 1742
The whole being interspersed with a concise account of King William and Queen Anne's Wars.

Patricia Hatch <patricia_hatch at harvard.edu> wrote:
  I have seen the quotation:

"It is better to have a lion at the head of an 
army of sheep, than a sheep at the head of an 
army of lions" attributed on many quote pages to Daniel Dafoe

This internet site gives this information as the 
inspiration for Dafoe's quote: http://www.chiasmus.com/archive/msg00120.html


Defoe's observation was probably inspired by a remark from
a great Greek general named Chabrias, who had observed
in the 4th century B.C.:

"An army of stags led by a lion
is more to be feared
than an army of lions led by a stag."

I could not find any source for when or where Dafoe said this

Hope this is helpful

Patty


At 10:09 AM 6/15/2007, you wrote:
>Greetings to the collective wisdom.
>
>I have a quotation found in La Confession de Talleyrand:
>"Je crains plus une armée de cent moutons 
>commandée par un lion, qu'une armée de cent lions commandée par un mouton."
>
>Unfortunately I don't read French. Can some kind soul look and tell me
>whether Talleyrand mentions in the book where he got this maxim from? I've
>been using the translation engines but it looks like he doesn't mention any
>source.
>
>The full text is available in Gutenberg at 
>http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/20564
>
>Thanks,
>Slow
>
>PS Alternatively, does anyone have an etymology 
>for fearing an army of sheep commanded by a lion 
>more than an army of lions led by a sheep.
>
>
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Patricia Hatch
Educational Technology & Communications Specialist
Harvard University
Center for Workplace Development/FAD Financial Systems Solutions
8 Story Street (Basement)
Cambridge, MA 02138
Phone: (617) 496-3242
email: patricia_hatch at harvard.edu 


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