High Office Quotes (1 quote)
High office is like a steep crag that is reached only by eagles and reptiles.
In 'Éloge de l’Abbé de Choisy', collected in Éloges Lus Dans Les Séances Publiques de l'Académie Françoise (1779), 309-310. From the original French, “les grandes places sont comme les rochers escarpés, qu'il n'y a que les aigles & les reptiles qui y parviennent.” As translated above by Webmaster. Using “high office” for “les grandes places” (more literally, “great places” or “grand seats”) is based on the context of the whole paragraph containing the quote. Elsewhere on the web, the quote is found more freely translated as “High office, is like a pyramid; only two kinds of animals reach the summit—reptiles and eagles.” Webmaster thinks that eagles and reptiles scaling a “steep crag” makes a better mental picture than a “pyramid.”
In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion.
(1987) -- 
