Grit, p. 69.
“

In the strife of parties and principles, backbone without brains will carry it against brains without backbone. A politician weakly and amiably in the right is no match for a politician tenaciously and pugnaciously in the wrong.

— Edwin Percy Whipple

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "In the strife of parties and principles, backbone without brains will carry it against brains without backbone. A politician weakly and amiably in the right is no match for a politician tenaciously and pugnaciously in the wrong." in the context of "Grit, p. 69." to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Edwin Percy Whipple" (Quotes, Success and Its Conditions (1871): Success and Its Conditions (Boston: James R. Osgood and Company, 1871)) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Edwin Percy Whipple

About Edwin Percy Whipple

Edwin Percy Whipple (March 8, 1819 – June 16, 1886) was a literary critic and essayist from Massachusetts.