--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Diplomacy is what is practiced…" description: "\"Diplomacy is what is practiced after-the-fact. Never be too right too soon -- as any smart Uncle will tell you. The man who guesses what will happen wi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8e/hortense-calisher-21501_believe_diplomacy-is-what-is-practiced-after-the_881955.jpg" --- # Diplomacy is what is practiced after-the-fact. Never be… ![“Diplomacy is what is practiced after-the-fact. Never be too right too soon -- as any smart Uncle will tell you. The man who guesses what will happen will be blamed for it. No one will believe he has merely guessed.” quote by Hortense Calisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8e/hortense-calisher-21501_believe_diplomacy-is-what-is-practiced-after-the_881955.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8e/hortense-calisher-21501_believe_diplomacy-is-what-is-practiced-after-the_881955.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8e/hortense-calisher-21501_believe_diplomacy-is-what-is-practiced-after-the_881955.jpg) > “Diplomacy is what is practiced after-the-fact. Never be too right too soon -- as any smart Uncle will tell you. The man who guesses what will happen will be blamed for it. No one will believe he has merely guessed.” [Hortense Calisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hortense-calisher/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Diplomacy is reactive; being right too early invites blame, while guessing invites skepticism. **In simple terms:** Diplomacy follows events; being right early can backfire. Key Takeaway Act after facts, not before. Themes politics timing communication Mood thoughtful cautious Type strategic reflective When to use this quote - negotiations - crisis management - public statements Key Concepts diplomacy strategic silence Questions to Reflect On - When is pre‑emptive action justified? - How to balance foresight and humility? A Different Perspective May discourage proactive leadership. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Diplomacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diplomacy/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Peacebuilding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peacebuilding/) [Smart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smart/) ## Related quotes > [A fool is a person who guesses and gets it wrong, a clever man is one who guesses, regardless of time period, and gets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/a-fool-is-a-person-who-guesses-and-gets-it-wrong-a-clever-man-is-one/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [“There is no time for patience - there is no time for diplomacy - there is no time for policies, legislations and meaningless paperwork.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/there-is-no-time-for-patience-there-is-no-time-for-diplomacy-there-is/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [Obama is hardly the first president to seek rapprochement with our adversaries and reconciliation with our enemies, of course. But his determination to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-f-hayes/obama-is-hardly-the-first-president-to-seek-rapprochement-with-our/) [Stephen F. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-f-hayes/) > [Kolkata is a musical city. What I like about people here is the lack of diplomacy. Some of the best Indian classical musicians belong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sukhwinder-singh/kolkata-is-a-musical-city-what-i-like-about-people-here-is-the-lack/) [Sukhwinder Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sukhwinder-singh/) > [“Expecting accountability from the UN system was akin to expecting a blind dog to catch a flying Frisbee.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-soussan/expecting-accountability-from-the-un-system-was-akin-to-expecting-a/) Michael Soussan > [Iran has little capacity to deploy force. Its strategic doctrines are defensive, designed to deter invasion long enough for diplomacy to set it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/iran-has-little-capacity-to-deploy-force-its-strategic-doctrines-are/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Russia may very well be front and center again in 2020 as they were in 2016 regarding interference in America's presidential election. But the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-painter/russia-may-very-well-be-front-and-center-again-in-2020-as-they-were/) [Richard Painter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-painter/) > [There comes a point where you see no evidence that the carrot and diplomacy are working.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/there-comes-a-point-where-you-see-no-evidence-that-the-carrot-and/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [War is always a failure. It means we've failed in diplomacy and we've failed in talking to one another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-firrell/war-is-always-a-failure-it-means-we-ve-failed-in-diplomacy-and-we-ve/) [Martin Firrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-firrell/) > [The most successful cultural diplomacy strategy integrates people-to-people or arts/culture/media-to-people interactions into the basic business of diplomacy. The programs in Afghanistan, Egypt, and Iran…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-p-schneider/the-most-successful-cultural-diplomacy-strategy-integrates-people-to/) [Cynthia P. Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-p-schneider/) > [Believe it or not, entertainment is part of our American diplomacy, it is part of what makes us exceptional, part of what makes us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/believe-it-or-not-entertainment-is-part-of-our-american-diplomacy-it/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [ \[Putin\] is a bully. And bullies only understand when we punch them in the nose, but we need to do that economically. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-ayotte/putin-is-a-bully-and-bullies-only-understand-when-we-punch-them-in/) [Kelly Ayotte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-ayotte/) > [In archaeology you uncover the unknown. In diplomacy you cover the known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-archaeology-you-uncover-the-unknown-in-diplomacy-you-cover-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For diplomacy to be effective, words must be credible - and no one can now doubt the word of America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/for-diplomacy-to-be-effective-words-must-be-credible-and-no-one-can/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [Sanctions alone could not stop Iran's nuclear program. But they did help bring Iran to the negotiating table.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/sanctions-alone-could-not-stop-iran-s-nuclear-program-but-they-did/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) ## More by Hortense Calisher > [Every art is a church without communicants, presided over by a parish of the respectable. An artist is born kneeling; he fights to stand.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hortense-calisher/every-art-is-a-church-without-communicants-presided-over-by-a-parish/) [Hortense Calisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hortense-calisher/) > [But memory, after a time, dispenses its own emphasis, making a feuilleton of what we once thought most ponderable, laying its wreath on what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hortense-calisher/but-memory-after-a-time-dispenses-its-own-emphasis-making-a/) [Hortense Calisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hortense-calisher/) > [Women can't travel light. We're in charge of the basic facts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hortense-calisher/women-can-t-travel-light-we-re-in-charge-of-the-basic-facts/) [Hortense Calisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hortense-calisher/) > [Decades go faster toward the end of a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hortense-calisher/decades-go-faster-toward-the-end-of-a-century/) [Hortense Calisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hortense-calisher/) > ['Ms.' is a syllable which sounds like a bumble bee is breaking wind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hortense-calisher/ms-is-a-syllable-which-sounds-like-a-bumble-bee-is-breaking-wind/) [Hortense Calisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hortense-calisher/) > [Speech isn't for agony.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hortense-calisher/speech-isn-t-for-agony/) [Hortense Calisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hortense-calisher/) > [When anything gets freed, a zest goes round the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hortense-calisher/when-anything-gets-freed-a-zest-goes-round-the-world/) [Hortense Calisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hortense-calisher/) > [Balance is compromise. Of the muscles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hortense-calisher/balance-is-compromise-of-the-muscles/) [Hortense Calisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hortense-calisher/) > [Sociology, the guilty science, functions best by alarm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hortense-calisher/sociology-the-guilty-science-functions-best-by-alarm/) [Hortense Calisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hortense-calisher/) > [The young show the genetic process, the old merely die of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hortense-calisher/the-young-show-the-genetic-process-the-old-merely-die-of-it/) [Hortense Calisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hortense-calisher/) > [The novel is rescued life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hortense-calisher/the-novel-is-rescued-life/) [Hortense Calisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hortense-calisher/) > [It has always seemed to me that if you could talk about your work in fully-formed phrases, you wouldn't write it. The writing is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hortense-calisher/it-has-always-seemed-to-me-that-if-you-could-talk-about-your-work-in/) [Hortense Calisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hortense-calisher/) > [I always say that one's poetry is a solace to oneself and a nuisance to one's friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hortense-calisher/i-always-say-that-one-s-poetry-is-a-solace-to-oneself-and-a-nuisance/) [Hortense Calisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hortense-calisher/) > [Agony without genius was gaucherie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hortense-calisher/agony-without-genius-was-gaucherie/) [Hortense Calisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hortense-calisher/) > [What I have written-and how I came to write it-is most powerfully what I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hortense-calisher/what-i-have-written-and-how-i-came-to-write-it-is-most-powerfully/) [Hortense Calisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hortense-calisher/) [Explore all 29 Hortense Calisher quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hortense-calisher/) ## More Believe quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Resist discouragement by speaking His Word over your future. Keep standing. Keep hoping; keep believing because He is working behind the scenes. He's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/resist-discouragement-by-speaking-his-word-over-your-future-keep/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [There is no such word as item girl in the dictionary. People have created this word and I don't believe that I am an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shefali-zariwala/there-is-no-such-word-as-item-girl-in-the-dictionary-people-have/) [Shefali Zariwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shefali-zariwala/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I don't really like too much credit. I know nobody's going to believe this, but I'd rather be able to score goals and nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-wright-phillips/i-don-t-really-like-too-much-credit-i-know-nobody-s-going-to-believe/) [Bradley Wright-Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-wright-phillips/) > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [Bush reiterated his stand to conservatives opposing his decision on stem cell research. He said today he believes life begins at conception and ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/bush-reiterated-his-stand-to-conservatives-opposing-his-decision-on/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/) [Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/) > [To believe in love, to be ready to give up anything for it, to be willing to risk your life for it, is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/to-believe-in-love-to-be-ready-to-give-up-anything-for-it-to-be/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [That's why I don't generally talk about endorsements because I don't believe we have to tell people who to vote for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-iii/that-s-why-i-don-t-generally-talk-about-endorsements-because-i-don-t/) [Martin Luther King III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-iii/) > [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [We instantly believe everything we think. Isn't that insane? It's good for us to explore the depravity of our minds, so we know we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krishna-das/we-instantly-believe-everything-we-think-isn-t-that-insane-it-s-good/) [Krishna Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krishna-das/) Browse all 47,704 Believe quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Diplomacy is what is practiced after-the-fact. Never be too right too soon -- as any smart Uncle will tell you. The man who guesses what will happen will be blamed for it. No one will believe he has merely guessed.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hortense Calisher" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hortense-calisher/diplomacy-is-what-is-practiced-after-the-fact-never-be-too-right-too/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Believe" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hortense-calisher/diplomacy-is-what-is-practiced-after-the-fact-never-be-too-right-too/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8e/hortense-calisher-21501_believe_diplomacy-is-what-is-practiced-after-the_881955.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8e/hortense-calisher-21501_believe_diplomacy-is-what-is-practiced-after-the_881955.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8e/hortense-calisher-21501_believe_diplomacy-is-what-is-practiced-after-the_881955.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Diplomacy is what is practiced after-the-fact. Never be too right too soon -- as any smart Uncle will tell…” — Hortense Calisher", "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": "Hortense Calisher", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hortense-calisher/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Diplomacy is what is practiced after-the-fact....", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hortense-calisher/diplomacy-is-what-is-practiced-after-the-fact-never-be-too-right-too/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hortense-calisher/diplomacy-is-what-is-practiced-after-the-fact-never-be-too-right-too/#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 } } ] } ```