A Little Common Sense

William Pitt the Elder doubts the wisdom of letting experts run the country.

1769

Introduction

In 1769, the colourful John Wilkes MP was repeatedly barred from taking up his seat in the Commons. William Pitt leapt to Wilkes’s defence in the Lords, not concealing his irritation that Lord Justice Mansfield had, in a speech of wit, learning and meticulous argument, completely misunderstood Pitt’s point.

by William Pitt the Elder 1708-1778

THERE is one plain maxim, to which I have invariably adhered through life; that in every question, in which my liberty or my property were concerned, I should consult and be determined by the dictates of common sense.

I confess, my lords, that I am apt to distrust the refinements of learning, because I have seen the ablest and the most learned men equally liable to deceive themselves and to mislead others.

The condition of human nature would be lamentable indeed, if nothing less than the greatest learning and talents, which fall to the share of so small a number of men, were sufficient to direct our judgment and our conduct.

But providence has taken better care of our happiness, and given us, in the simplicity of common sense, a rule for our direction, by which we never shall be misled.*

by William Pitt the Elder 1708-1778

From A Speech given in the House of Lords on January 9th, 1770.

* Pitt’s opinion was echoed by another Prime Minister a century later. See ‘Never Trust Experts’.

Précis

During a debate in the House of Lords in 1770, veteran statesman William Pitt ‘the Elder’ was faced by an eloquent and well-educated opponent. However, he stood his ground, saying that even very clever people can be wrong, and that we cannot imagine that only the handful of really clever people in the world know how to behave properly.

Questions for Critics

1. What is the author aiming to achieve in writing this?

2. Note any words, devices or turns of phrase that strike you. How do they help the author communicate his ideas more effectively?

3. What impression does this passage make on you? How might you put that impression into words?

Based on The English Critic (1939) by NL Clay, drawing on The New Criticism: A Lecture Delivered at Columbia University, March 9, 1910, by J. E. Spingarn, Professor of Comparative Literature in Columbia University, USA.

Sevens

Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.

What was Pitt’s guiding maxim?

Suggestion

To be guided always by common sense.

Jigsaws

Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.

Pitt had a rule. He always relied on common sense. He kept it all his life.