--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If often happens too, both in courts and…" description: "\"If often happens too, both in courts and in cabinets, that there are two things going on together,--a main plot and an under-plot; and he that understa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c5/charles-caleb-colton-270_cabinets_if-often-happens-too-both-in-courts-and_2003000.png" --- # If often happens too, both in courts and in cabinets, that… ![“If often happens too, both in courts and in cabinets, that there are two things going on together,--a main plot and an under-plot; and he that understands only one of them will, in all probability, be the dupe of both. A mistress may rule a monarch, but some obscure favorite may rule the mistress.” quote by Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c5/charles-caleb-colton-270_cabinets_if-often-happens-too-both-in-courts-and_2003000.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c5/charles-caleb-colton-270_cabinets_if-often-happens-too-both-in-courts-and_2003000.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c5/charles-caleb-colton-270_cabinets_if-often-happens-too-both-in-courts-and_2003000.png) > “If often happens too, both in courts and in cabinets, that there are two things going on together,--a main plot and an under-plot; and he that understands only one of them will, in all probability, be the dupe of both. A mistress may rule a monarch, but some obscure favorite may rule the mistress.” [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding both overt actions and hidden motives is essential; focusing on only one leads to being deceived by both. **In simple terms:** Know both the obvious and the hidden. Key Takeaway Beware of single‑track thinking. Themes politics power deception Mood cautious analytical Type observational critical When to use this quote - courtroom - government - corporate meetings - personal relationships Key Concepts strategic analysis psychology social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - What hidden motives might you be overlooking? - How can you balance attention between visible and invisible factors? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on hidden motives can cause paranoia. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cabinets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cabinets/) [Court](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/court/) [Dupe Mistress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dupe-mistress-3535183/) [Dupes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dupes/) [Happens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happens/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Intrigue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intrigue/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Mistress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistress/) [Mistress Rule](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistress-rule-3535181/) [Monarchs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monarchs/) [Obscure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obscure/) [Plot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plot/) [Probability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/probability/) [Rule Mistress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rule-mistress-3535182/) [Rule Monarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rule-monarch-3535184/) [Together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/together/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [Two things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two-things/) ## Related quotes > [If Satan ever laughs, it must be at hypocrites; they are the greatest dupes he has.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/if-satan-ever-laughs-it-must-be-at-hypocrites-they-are-the-greatest-2/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demosthenes/a-man-is-his-own-easiest-dupe-for-what-he-wishes-to-be-true-he/) [Demosthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demosthenes/) > [Extraordinarily excessive sensuality it may be .. but it all comes down to the same thing in the end, and one means is surely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/extraordinarily-excessive-sensuality-it-may-be-but-it-all-comes-down/) [Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/) > [The credulity of dupes is as inexhaustible as the invention of knaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/the-credulity-of-dupes-is-as-inexhaustible-as-the-invention-of-knaves/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [In vain we shall penetrate more and more deeply the secrets of the structure of the human body, we shall not dupe nature; we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-le-bovier-de-fontenelle/in-vain-we-shall-penetrate-more-and-more-deeply-the-secrets-of-the/) [Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-le-bovier-de-fontenelle/) > [Excessive partiality for one foreign nation and excessive dislike of another cause those whom they actuate to see danger only on one side, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/excessive-partiality-for-one-foreign-nation-and-excessive-dislike-of/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [When the Gauls laid waste Rome, they found the senators clothed in their robes, and seated in stern tranquillity in their curule chairs; in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/when-the-gauls-laid-waste-rome-they-found-the-senators-clothed-in/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [The weak-minded man is the slave of his vices and the dupe of his virtues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-antoine-petit-senn/the-weak-minded-man-is-the-slave-of-his-vices-and-the-dupe-of-his/) [Jean Antoine Petit-Senn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-antoine-petit-senn/) > [Let nothing dupe you! Such is the horrible maxim that acts as a solvent upon every noble feeling man experiences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/let-nothing-dupe-you-such-is-the-horrible-maxim-that-acts-as-a/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [Ratings agencies are highly conflicted, unimaginative dupes. They are blissfully unaware of adverse selection and moral hazard. Investors should never trust them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/ratings-agencies-are-highly-conflicted-unimaginative-dupes-they-are/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) > [The human heart has so many crannies where vanity hides, so many holes where falsehood works, is so decked out with deceiving hypocrisy, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/the-human-heart-has-so-many-crannies-where-vanity-hides-so-many-holes/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [The bonds between ourselves and another person exists only in our minds. Memory as it grows fainter loosens them, and notwithstanding the illusion by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/the-bonds-between-ourselves-and-another-person-exists-only-in-our/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Pessimists fear becoming the dupes of Hope. Optimists enjoy Hope's company, and consider being duped no great matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/pessimists-fear-becoming-the-dupes-of-hope-optimists-enjoy-hope-s/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Women are ever the dupes or the victims of their extreme sensitiveness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/women-are-ever-the-dupes-or-the-victims-of-their-extreme-sensitiveness/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [A forward critic often dupes us With sham quotations peri hupsos, And if we have not read Longinus, Will magisterially outshine us. Then, lest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/a-forward-critic-often-dupes-us-with-sham-quotations-peri-hupsos-and/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) ## More by Charles Caleb Colton > [Villainy that is vigilant will be an overmatch for virtue, if she slumber at her post.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/villainy-that-is-vigilant-will-be-an-overmatch-for-virtue-if-she/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [A beautiful woman, if poor, should use double circumspection; for her beauty will tempt others, her poverty herself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/a-beautiful-woman-if-poor-should-use-double-circumspection-for-her/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Were the life of man prolonged, he would become such a proficient in villainy, that it would become necessary again to drown or to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/were-the-life-of-man-prolonged-he-would-become-such-a-proficient-in/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [To dare to live alone is the rarest courage; since there are many who had rather meet their bitterest enemy in the field, than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/to-dare-to-live-alone-is-the-rarest-courage-since-there-are-many-who/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [It is doubtful whether mankind are most indebted to those who like Bacon and Butler dig the gold from the mine of literature, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/it-is-doubtful-whether-mankind-are-most-indebted-to-those-who-like/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Be very slow to believe that you are wiser than all others; it is a fatal but common error. Where one has been saved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/be-very-slow-to-believe-that-you-are-wiser-than-all-others-it-is-a/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [None are so fond of secrets as those who do not mean to keep them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/none-are-so-fond-of-secrets-as-those-who-do-not-mean-to-keep-them/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Mental pleasures never cloy; unlike those of the body, they are increased by reputation, approved by reflection, and strengthened by enjoyment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/mental-pleasures-never-cloy-unlike-those-of-the-body-they-are/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Ignorance lies at the bottom of all human knowledge, and the deeper we penetrate, the nearer we arrive unto it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/ignorance-lies-at-the-bottom-of-all-human-knowledge-and-the-deeper-we/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Heroism, self-denial, and magnanimity, in all instances where they do not spring from a principle of religion, are but splendid altars on which we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/heroism-self-denial-and-magnanimity-in-all-instances-where-they-do/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [We ought not to be over-anxious to encourage innovation in cases of doubtful improvement, for an old system must ever have two advantages over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/we-ought-not-to-be-over-anxious-to-encourage-innovation-in-cases-of/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [We owe almost all our knowledge not to those who have agreed, but to those who have differed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/we-owe-almost-all-our-knowledge-not-to-those-who-have-agreed-but-to/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Metaphysicians have been learning their lessons for the last four thousand years, and it is high time that they should now begin to teach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/metaphysicians-have-been-learning-their-lessons-for-the-last-four/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Faith and works are necessary to our spiritual life as Christians, as soul and body are to our natural life as men; for faith…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/faith-and-works-are-necessary-to-our-spiritual-life-as-christians-as/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [When all moves equally (says Pascal), nothing seems to move as in a vessel under sail; and when all run by common consent into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/when-all-moves-equally-says-pascal-nothing-seems-to-move-as-in-a/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) [Explore all 778 Charles Caleb Colton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) ## More Cabinets quotes > [Your head's like mine, like all our heads; big enough to contain every god and devil there ever was. Big enough to hold the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-morrison/your-head-s-like-mine-like-all-our-heads-big-enough-to-contain-every/) [Grant Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-morrison/) > [Every person of any rank in the left, from voter on up to cabinet member to elected official in the Democrat Party, has contempt.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/every-person-of-any-rank-in-the-left-from-voter-on-up-to-cabinet/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [I can hardly wait until Donald Trump announces his celebrity cabinet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/i-can-hardly-wait-until-donald-trump-announces-his-celebrity-cabinet/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [ \[Footnote:\] Pliny the Elder described a Whale called "Balaena or Whirlpool, which is so long and broad as to take up more in length… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-cuppy/footnote-pliny-the-elder-described-a-whale-called-balaena-or/) [Will Cuppy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-cuppy/) > [Well, we're just a couple of weeks from new President Barack Obama being sworn in. And he's been very busy naming a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/well-we-re-just-a-couple-of-weeks-from-new-president-barack-obama/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [Some pretty senior young individuals in and around the Cabinet should share the responsibility for talking up an election and referring publicly on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-winnick/some-pretty-senior-young-individuals-in-and-around-the-cabinet-should/) [David Winnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-winnick/) > [Nobody wants me as a Cabinet Minister and they are perfectly right. I am an agitator, not an administrator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-astor/nobody-wants-me-as-a-cabinet-minister-and-they-are-perfectly-right-i/) [Nancy Astor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-astor/) > [I find myself in a new and strange position here: President, cabinet, Gen. Scott, and all deferring to me. By some strange operation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-b-mcclellan/i-find-myself-in-a-new-and-strange-position-here-president-cabinet/) [George B. McClellan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-b-mcclellan/) > [I worry about the lack of experience that Rex Tillerson has had on the diplomatic front and, frankly, I think that's true for many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-mccaskill/i-worry-about-the-lack-of-experience-that-rex-tillerson-has-had-on/) [Claire McCaskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-mccaskill/) > [Fletch then kisses me on the forehead before opening the cabinet under the coffeemaker to grab placemats and napkins. Retrieving these items is his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-lancaster/fletch-then-kisses-me-on-the-forehead-before-opening-the-cabinet/) [Jen Lancaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-lancaster/) > [Every cabinet minister gets a mission statement from the Prime Minister.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-mulroney/every-cabinet-minister-gets-a-mission-statement-from-the-prime/) [Brian Mulroney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-mulroney/) > [Lillian Gish thought that there should be a cabinet position for the arts and I think she was right. I think she was right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-wray/lillian-gish-thought-that-there-should-be-a-cabinet-position-for-the/) [Fay Wray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-wray/) > [First of all, Donald Trump cabinet or - I call it the 3-G cabinet, Goldman, generals and gazillionaires. And I think it's one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-mccaskill/first-of-all-donald-trump-cabinet-or-i-call-it-the-3-g-cabinet/) [Claire McCaskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-mccaskill/) > [In a sense, Open City is a kind of Wunderkammer, one of those little rooms assembled with bric-a-brac by Renaissance scholars. I don't mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/in-a-sense-open-city-is-a-kind-of-wunderkammer-one-of-those-little/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [A man who is ill-adjusted to the world is always on the verge of finding himself. One who is adjusted to the world never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/a-man-who-is-ill-adjusted-to-the-world-is-always-on-the-verge-of/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) [Browse all 308 Cabinets quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cabinets/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If often happens too, both in courts and in cabinets, that there are two things going on together,--a main plot and an under-plot; and he that understands only one of them will, in all probability, be the dupe of both. A mistress may rule a monarch, but some obscure favorite may rule the mistress.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charles Caleb Colton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/if-often-happens-too-both-in-courts-and-in-cabinets-that-there-are/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cabinets" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/if-often-happens-too-both-in-courts-and-in-cabinets-that-there-are/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c5/charles-caleb-colton-270_cabinets_if-often-happens-too-both-in-courts-and_2003000.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c5/charles-caleb-colton-270_cabinets_if-often-happens-too-both-in-courts-and_2003000.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c5/charles-caleb-colton-270_cabinets_if-often-happens-too-both-in-courts-and_2003000.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If often happens too, both in courts and in cabinets, that there are two things going on together,--a main…” — Charles Caleb Colton", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Charles Caleb Colton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If often happens too, both in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/if-often-happens-too-both-in-courts-and-in-cabinets-that-there-are/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/if-often-happens-too-both-in-courts-and-in-cabinets-that-there-are/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```