--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Take all your dukes and marquesses and…" description: "\"Take all your dukes and marquesses and earls and viscounts, pack them into one chamber, call it the House of Lords to satisfy their pride and then stri..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d9/charles-krauthammer-1232_age_take-all-your-dukes-and-marquesses-and-e_2599495.jpg" --- # Take all your dukes and marquesses and earls and… ![“Take all your dukes and marquesses and earls and viscounts, pack them into one chamber, call it the House of Lords to satisfy their pride and then strip it of all political power. It's a solution so perfectly elegant and preposterous that only the British could have managed it.” quote by Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d9/charles-krauthammer-1232_age_take-all-your-dukes-and-marquesses-and-e_2599495.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d9/charles-krauthammer-1232_age_take-all-your-dukes-and-marquesses-and-e_2599495.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d9/charles-krauthammer-1232_age_take-all-your-dukes-and-marquesses-and-e_2599495.jpg) > “Take all your dukes and marquesses and earls and viscounts, pack them into one chamber, call it the House of Lords to satisfy their pride and then strip it of all political power. It's a solution so perfectly elegant and preposterous that only the British could have managed it.” [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A satirical proposal to neutralize aristocratic pride by giving them a ceremonial body without real authority. **In simple terms:** Give nobles a title-only chamber to curb their power. Key Takeaway Create symbolic institutions to reduce real influence. Themes politics aristocracy satire institutional design Mood irry critical thought‑provoking Type satirical political commentary When to use this quote - legislative reform - political satire - public discourse - government restructuring Key Concepts power dynamics symbolic authority constitutional reform Questions to Reflect On - What are the risks of stripping power from traditional elites? - Can symbolic gestures replace substantive reform? A Different Perspective May be seen as dismissive of historical roles and cultural heritage. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [British](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/british/) [Chamber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chamber/) [Dukes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dukes/) [Earls Viscounts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earls-viscounts-1931499/) [Elegant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elegant/) [House](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/house/) [House Lords](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/house-lords-674739/) [House of lords](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/house-of-lords/) [Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lord/) [Lords](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lords/) [Marquesses Earls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marquesses-earls-1931500/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Packs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/packs/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Political power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-power/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Pride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pride/) [Solutions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solutions/) [Viscounts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/viscounts-1931501/) ## Related quotes > [Every man has a House of Lords in his own head. Fears, prejudices, misconceptions - those are the peers and they are hereditary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lloyd-george/every-man-has-a-house-of-lords-in-his-own-head-fears-prejudices/) [David Lloyd George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lloyd-george/) > [During the last 100 years, the House of Lords has never contributed one iota to popular liberties or popular freedom, or done anything to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-chamberlain/during-the-last-100-years-the-house-of-lords-has-never-contributed/) [Joseph Chamberlain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-chamberlain/) > [I don't believe in the hereditary principle in the House of Lords. Imagine going to the dentist, sitting in the chair and he says,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/i-don-t-believe-in-the-hereditary-principle-in-the-house-of-lords/) [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) > [The house of Lords must be the only institution in the world which is kept efficient by the persistent absenteeism of most of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-samuel-1st-viscount-samuel/the-house-of-lords-must-be-the-only-institution-in-the-world-which-is/) [Herbert Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-samuel-1st-viscount-samuel/) > [The House of Lords is a model of how to care for the elderly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-field/the-house-of-lords-is-a-model-of-how-to-care-for-the-elderly/) [Frank Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-field/) > [Anyone from abroad will tell you that it is the class system that really lies at the root of our problems, economic and industrial.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/anyone-from-abroad-will-tell-you-that-it-is-the-class-system-that/) [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) > [The House of Lords must go - not be reformed, not be replaced, not be reborn in some nominated life-after-death patronage paradise, just closed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-kinnock/the-house-of-lords-must-go-not-be-reformed-not-be-replaced-not-be/) [Neil Kinnock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-kinnock/) > [Give them a corrupt House of Lords, give them a venal House of Commons, give they a tyrannical Prince, give them a truckling court,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/give-them-a-corrupt-house-of-lords-give-them-a-venal-house-of-commons/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [It is quite clear from what has been said and written that, time after time after time, there has been a conspiracy between the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-callaghan/it-is-quite-clear-from-what-has-been-said-and-written-that-time-after/) [James Callaghan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-callaghan/) > [What we need is someone to abolish the House Of Lords, get rid of the Royal Family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boorman/what-we-need-is-someone-to-abolish-the-house-of-lords-get-rid-of-the/) [John Boorman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boorman/) > [The House of Lords, architecturally, is a magnificent room, and the dignity, quiet, and repose of the scene made me unwillingly acknowledge that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-e-w-sherwood/the-house-of-lords-architecturally-is-a-magnificent-room-and-the/) [M. E. W. Sherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-e-w-sherwood/) > [Lives the man that can figure a naked Duke of Windlestraw addressing a naked House of Lords?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/lives-the-man-that-can-figure-a-naked-duke-of-windlestraw-addressing/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [We were working class, and you don't lose that. Later on, I bolted on media middle class... and now people like me are in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melvyn-bragg/we-were-working-class-and-you-don-t-lose-that-later-on-i-bolted-on/) [Melvyn Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melvyn-bragg/) > [I've always said that I favour an elected second chamber and I think it's important that there are members of the House of Lords…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-knight/i-ve-always-said-that-i-favour-an-elected-second-chamber-and-i-think/) [Jim Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-knight/) > [The House of Lords is like a glass of champagne that has stood for five days](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-attlee/the-house-of-lords-is-like-a-glass-of-champagne-that-has-stood-for/) [Clement Attlee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-attlee/) ## More by Charles Krauthammer > [Obama and the Democrats were so critical of what Bush did, the interrogations, the secret prisons, Guantanamo and all of that, and even the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/obama-and-the-democrats-were-so-critical-of-what-bush-did-the/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [“America is the most welcoming, religiously tolerant, philo-semitic country in the world. No nation since Cyrus the Great’s Persia has done more for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/america-is-the-most-welcoming-religiously-tolerant-philo-semitic/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [I believe in what I believe, and I think after all these years I've heard a lot of arguments, and I'm convinced by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/i-believe-in-what-i-believe-and-i-think-after-all-these-years-i-ve/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [With our financial house on fire, Obama makes clear both in in his speech and his budget that the essence of his presidency will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/with-our-financial-house-on-fire-obama-makes-clear-both-in-in-his/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [The conservative idea is not that government has no role. You might have argued that in the thirties when conservatives opposed the New Deal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/the-conservative-idea-is-not-that-government-has-no-role-you-might/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [The war is not going well and it is time to say why. It has been fought with half-measures. It has been fought with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/the-war-is-not-going-well-and-it-is-time-to-say-why-it-has-been/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [“International stability is never a given. It is never the norm. When achieved, it is the product of self-conscious action by the great powers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/international-stability-is-never-a-given-it-is-never-the-norm-when/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [Look, I don't mind if the President sends a budget which he knows is not going to achieve anything. But when he prefaces his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/look-i-don-t-mind-if-the-president-sends-a-budget-which-he-knows-is/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [“Politics is the moat, the walls, beyond which lie the barbarians. Fail to keep them at bay, and everything burns.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/politics-is-the-moat-the-walls-beyond-which-lie-the-barbarians-fail/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [Don't touch my junk, you airport security goon--my package belongs to no one but me, and do you really think I'm a Nigerian nut…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/don-t-touch-my-junk-you-airport-security-goon-my-package-belongs-to/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [“The Russian Revolution and its imitators (Chinese, Cuban, Vietnamese, Cambodian) tried to atomize society so thoroughly--to war against the mediating structures that stand between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/the-russian-revolution-and-its-imitators-chinese-cuban-vietnamese/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [Where religion is trivialized, one is unlikely to find persecution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/where-religion-is-trivialized-one-is-unlikely-to-find-persecution/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [We must now brace ourselves for disquisitions on peer pressure, adolescent anomie, and rage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/we-must-now-brace-ourselves-for-disquisitions-on-peer-pressure/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [Post-Watergate morality, by which anything left private is taken as presumptive evidence of wrongdoing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/post-watergate-morality-by-which-anything-left-private-is-taken-as/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [“The largest threat to freedom, democracy, the market economy and prosperity,' warns Czech president Vaclav Klaus, 'is no longer socialism. It is, instead, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/the-largest-threat-to-freedom-democracy-the-market-economy-and/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) [Explore all 268 Charles Krauthammer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) ## More Age quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/) [Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/) > [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [I calculated that if I live up to the age of 80, then I end up using 450 toothbrushes in my life. All that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/i-calculated-that-if-i-live-up-to-the-age-of-80-then-i-end-up-using/) [Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/) > [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? Because all else is temporary, while beauty and wisdom are the only real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/why-is-wisdom-so-fair-why-is-beauty-so-wise-because-all-else-is/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/) [Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [We have started to make music at age seven. That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/) [Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/) [Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Take all your dukes and marquesses and earls and viscounts, pack them into one chamber, call it the House of Lords to satisfy their pride and then strip it of all political power. It's a solution so perfectly elegant and preposterous that only the British could have managed it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charles Krauthammer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/take-all-your-dukes-and-marquesses-and-earls-and-viscounts-pack-them/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Age" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/take-all-your-dukes-and-marquesses-and-earls-and-viscounts-pack-them/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d9/charles-krauthammer-1232_age_take-all-your-dukes-and-marquesses-and-e_2599495.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d9/charles-krauthammer-1232_age_take-all-your-dukes-and-marquesses-and-e_2599495.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d9/charles-krauthammer-1232_age_take-all-your-dukes-and-marquesses-and-e_2599495.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Take all your dukes and marquesses and earls and viscounts, pack them into one chamber, call it the House of…” — Charles Krauthammer", "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 Krauthammer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Take all your dukes and marquesses...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/take-all-your-dukes-and-marquesses-and-earls-and-viscounts-pack-them/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/take-all-your-dukes-and-marquesses-and-earls-and-viscounts-pack-them/#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 } } ] } ```