A Quote About Sheep

Errol does some research.

"I am more afraid of an army of a hundred sheep led by a lion than an army of a hundred lions lead by a sheep."

Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord

Hmm. I suspect that when he made this comment, he probably didn't mean a flock of toy sheep lead by a lion dude with a green mane.

Wouldn't it be awfully good fun to take a time machine back a couple of hundred years and bring the learned men of the time into the 21st century? I wonder what on earth they would make of it all? From what I have read today, I reckon Monsieur Talleyrand was a forward thinker and would have fit right in.

Prior to discovering this quote in the "QI Book of Advanced Banter" (interesting quotes about sheep are hard to find, don't you think?), I'd never heard of this bloke. So, I've looked him up on t'internet and it seems he was a French diplomat (some might say that is an oxymoron) during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Despite being an aristocrat during the reign of Louis XVI, Talleyrand survived the French Revolution (probably because he sided with the revolutionists) and continued his career under Napoleon. Indeed, a book about him is actually titled 'Napoleon's Master' so he must have been an important part of the Napoleonic government. He was also a believer in the constitutional monarchy and went on to serve as Louis XVIII's Foreign Minister after the restoration and was later the ambassador to London for King Louis Philippe. It seems that a childhood injury rendered him unfit for military service, so he found his way into public life via studying for the priesthood. Although appointed to the position of Bishop of Autun (a position he later resigned) Talleyrand objected to having to join the clergy in order to obtain a suitable place in society and spent a lot of time studying the works of historians, poets and moralists and later went on to write some books of his own.

I haven't discovered exactly when Monsieur Talleyrand made the sheep related comment at the top of this blog, so I cannot hazard a guess as to which of the many rulers who controlled France during his lifetime he had in mind for his lion.

I have heard my owners discussing the possibility of a trip to France next month. I am hopeful of finding a small sheep-sized space in one of their suitcases.

I don't care what Moosey says about being Canadian (I think he was made in China, same as me) and being able to speak the language, he'd take up more room in the case so they're more likely to take me.