--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Compromise makes a good umbrella, but a…" description: "\"Compromise makes a good umbrella, but a poor roof; it is temporary expedient, often wise in party politics, almost sure to be unwise in statesmanship.\"..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d1/james-russell-lowell-561_compromise_compromise-makes-a-good-umbrella-but-a-p_250957.png" --- # Compromise makes a good umbrella, but a poor roof; it is… ![“Compromise makes a good umbrella, but a poor roof; it is temporary expedient, often wise in party politics, almost sure to be unwise in statesmanship.” quote by James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d1/james-russell-lowell-561_compromise_compromise-makes-a-good-umbrella-but-a-p_250957.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d1/james-russell-lowell-561_compromise_compromise-makes-a-good-umbrella-but-a-p_250957.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d1/james-russell-lowell-561_compromise_compromise-makes-a-good-umbrella-but-a-p_250957.png) > “Compromise makes a good umbrella, but a poor roof; it is temporary expedient, often wise in party politics, almost sure to be unwise in statesmanship.” [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Compromise can be useful for short‑term political gains but often fails in long‑term governance and leadership. **In simple terms:** Short‑term fixes hurt lasting leadership. Key Takeaway Avoid short‑term fixes in leadership. Themes politics leadership ethics Mood reflective critical Type advisory philosophical When to use this quote - legislative negotiations - party coalition building - policy drafting - public administration Key Concepts pragmatism integrity statecraft Questions to Reflect On - What principles are you willing to compromise? - When does compromise become betrayal? A Different Perspective Compromise may sacrifice core values for expediency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Compromise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compromise/) [Negotiation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/negotiation/) [Party](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/party/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Statesmanship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/statesmanship/) [Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise/) ## Related quotes > [Compromise makes a good umbrella, but a poor roof.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/compromise-makes-a-good-umbrella-but-a-poor-roof/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [A profound common sense is the best genius for statesmanship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/a-profound-common-sense-is-the-best-genius-for-statesmanship/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [“On Lincoln: "A profound common sense is the best genius for statesmanship.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/on-lincoln-a-profound-common-sense-is-the-best-genius-for/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [Stern men with empires in their brains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/stern-men-with-empires-in-their-brains/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [Party politics are quite upsetting. I've been a member of the Labour party, the Green party, the Women's Equality Party, the National Health Action…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-monroe/party-politics-are-quite-upsetting-i-ve-been-a-member-of-the-labour/) [Jack Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-monroe/) > [You can have solid third party politics, but the problem is you're all lumped in to all the fringe groups. That's a stereotype that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ventura/you-can-have-solid-third-party-politics-but-the-problem-is-you-re-all/) [Jesse Ventura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ventura/) > [None of us believe countering terrorism is about party politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-blunkett/none-of-us-believe-countering-terrorism-is-about-party-politics/) [David Blunkett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-blunkett/) > [I'm incredibly uncommitted to party politics. I vote Labour but only because Glenda Jackson was my MP and I loved her on 'Morecambe &…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baddiel/i-m-incredibly-uncommitted-to-party-politics-i-vote-labour-but-only/) [David Baddiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baddiel/) > [“By absorbing myself in the passion of party politics, I risk forgetting that politics are meaningless unless they serve a spiritual truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/by-absorbing-myself-in-the-passion-of-party-politics-i-risk/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [There is a hundred things to single you out for promotion in party politics besides ability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/there-is-a-hundred-things-to-single-you-out-for-promotion-in-party/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [Party politics in modern democratic society means pandering to a wide variety of different groups and sympathizing with their often quite base motives, such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randal-marlin/party-politics-in-modern-democratic-society-means-pandering-to-a-wide/) [Randal Marlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randal-marlin/) > [Partisan rancour and party politics and ideology have got in the way of compromise - and compromise is the only thing that has ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-spacey/partisan-rancour-and-party-politics-and-ideology-have-got-in-the-way/) [Kevin Spacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-spacey/) > [Party politics divides friendships sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-bon-jovi/party-politics-divides-friendships-sometimes/) [Jon Bon Jovi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-bon-jovi/) > [The American people are expecting us to put party politics aside and get things done - and not doing so is a dereliction of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-phillips/the-american-people-are-expecting-us-to-put-party-politics-aside-and/) [Dean Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-phillips/) > [In 2012, I had joined BJP to get some help for my schools for the orphans that are run in Delhi and Kolkata. However,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kumar-sanu/in-2012-i-had-joined-bjp-to-get-some-help-for-my-schools-for-the/) [Kumar Sanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kumar-sanu/) ## More by James Russell Lowell > [We kind o' thought Christ went agin war an' pillage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/we-kind-o-thought-christ-went-agin-war-an-pillage/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [He gives only the worthless gold who gives from a sense of duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/he-gives-only-the-worthless-gold-who-gives-from-a-sense-of-duty/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [As life runs on, the road grows strange with faces new - and near the end. The milestones into headstones change, Neath every one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/as-life-runs-on-the-road-grows-strange-with-faces-new-and-near-the/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [Where one person shapes their life by precept and example, there are a thousand who have shaped it by impulse and circumstances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/where-one-person-shapes-their-life-by-precept-and-example-there-are-a/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [Granting our wish is one of Fate's saddest jokes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/granting-our-wish-is-one-of-fate-s-saddest-jokes/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [Most religion-mongers have bated their paradises with a bit of toasted cheese. They have tempted the body with large promises of possessions in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/most-religion-mongers-have-bated-their-paradises-with-a-bit-of/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [The thing we long for, that we are For one transcendent moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/the-thing-we-long-for-that-we-are-for-one-transcendent-moment/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [O reputation! dearer far than life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/o-reputation-dearer-far-than-life/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [Keats longed for fame, but longed above all to deserve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/keats-longed-for-fame-but-longed-above-all-to-deserve-it/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [It is beginning to be doubtful whether Parliament and Congress sit in Westminster and Washington, or in the editorial rooms of the leading journals,--so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/it-is-beginning-to-be-doubtful-whether-parliament-and-congress-sit-in/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [ \[B\]ut in literature, it should be remembered, a thing always becomes his at last who says it best, and thus makes it his own. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/b-ut-in-literature-it-should-be-remembered-a-thing-always-becomes-his/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [It may be glorious to write Thoughts that shall glad the two or three High souls, like those far stars that come in sight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/it-may-be-glorious-to-write-thoughts-that-shall-glad-the-two-or-three/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [It is the vain endeavor to make ourselves what we are not that has strewn history with so many broken purposes and lives left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/it-is-the-vain-endeavor-to-make-ourselves-what-we-are-not-that-has/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [Take winter as you find him, and he turns out to be a thoroughly honest fellow; with no nonsense in him, which is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/take-winter-as-you-find-him-and-he-turns-out-to-be-a-thoroughly/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [The intellect has only one failing, which, to be sure, is a very considerable one. It has no conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/the-intellect-has-only-one-failing-which-to-be-sure-is-a-very/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) [Explore all 471 James Russell Lowell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) ## More Compromise quotes > [Leaders need to compromise, negotiate with members of both parties and ideologies, and reform health care the right way - by developing a strong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-boustany/leaders-need-to-compromise-negotiate-with-members-of-both-parties-and/) [Charles Boustany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-boustany/) > [A compromise is the art of dividing a cake in such a way that everyone believes he has the biggest piece.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-erhard/a-compromise-is-the-art-of-dividing-a-cake-in-such-a-way-that/) Ludwig Erhard > [Real love is not based upon romance,candle light,dinner and walk along beach.Infact,It's based on care,compromise,respect and trust..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/real-love-is-not-based-upon-romance-candle-light-dinner-and-walk/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Simple answers, reductionist politics, are the most prone to compromise, to saying we’re addressing the essential issue and all that other stuff can slide.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/simple-answers-reductionist-politics-are-the-most-prone-to-compromise/) [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) > [“I’m not sure sex qualifies as R and R, but it’s a compromise I can live with.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-morgen/i-m-not-sure-sex-qualifies-as-r-and-r-but-it-s-a-compromise-i-can/) Shelby Morgen > [You know what the Englishman's idea of compromise is? He says, Some people say there is a God. Some people say there is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/you-know-what-the-englishman-s-idea-of-compromise-is-he-says-some/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [But if you get chronically, psychosocially stressed, you're going to compromise your health. So, essentially, we've evolved to be smart enough to make ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/but-if-you-get-chronically-psychosocially-stressed-you-re-going-to/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) > [The human spirit will not invest itself in a compromise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fritz/the-human-spirit-will-not-invest-itself-in-a-compromise/) [Robert Fritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fritz/) > [No relationship is perfect, ever. There are always some ways you have to bend, to compromise, to give something up in order to gain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/no-relationship-is-perfect-ever-there-are-always-some-ways-you-have/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [“And what would you like, Sharie?" asked Miss Mush. "What do you have?" asked Sharie. "Potato salad". "What else is there?" asked Sharie. "Nothing"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-sachar/and-what-would-you-like-sharie-asked-miss-mush-what-do-you-have-asked/) [Louis Sachar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-sachar/) > [A lasting relationship consists of the 3 C's: Commitment. Communication. Compromise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/a-lasting-relationship-consists-of-the-3-c-s-commitment-communication/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [As a politician - particularly as a politician in a coalition - you quickly realise that compromise is a part of the game. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-davey/as-a-politician-particularly-as-a-politician-in-a-coalition-you/) [Edward Davey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-davey/) > [“The fact that I can get away with something is the very reason why I shouldn’t do it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/the-fact-that-i-can-get-away-with-something-is-the-very-reason-why-i/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [There could be some compromise, but I think we have to stick to the provisions of the treaty, and the provisions of the treaty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-santer/there-could-be-some-compromise-but-i-think-we-have-to-stick-to-the/) [Jacques Santer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-santer/) > [Love is not only about romance, candle-lit dinners and walking hand in hand. In fact, real love is about a lifetime of compromise, commitment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aarti-khurana/love-is-not-only-about-romance-candle-lit-dinners-and-walking-hand-in/) [Aarti Khurana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aarti-khurana/) [Browse all 2,076 Compromise quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compromise/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Compromise makes a good umbrella, but a poor roof; it is temporary expedient, often wise in party politics, almost sure to be unwise in statesmanship.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James Russell Lowell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/compromise-makes-a-good-umbrella-but-a-poor-roof-it-is-temporary/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Compromise" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/compromise-makes-a-good-umbrella-but-a-poor-roof-it-is-temporary/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d1/james-russell-lowell-561_compromise_compromise-makes-a-good-umbrella-but-a-p_250957.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d1/james-russell-lowell-561_compromise_compromise-makes-a-good-umbrella-but-a-p_250957.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d1/james-russell-lowell-561_compromise_compromise-makes-a-good-umbrella-but-a-p_250957.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Compromise makes a good umbrella, but a poor roof; it is temporary expedient, often wise in party politics…” — James Russell Lowell", "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": "James Russell Lowell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Compromise makes a good umbrella, but...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/compromise-makes-a-good-umbrella-but-a-poor-roof-it-is-temporary/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/compromise-makes-a-good-umbrella-but-a-poor-roof-it-is-temporary/#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 } } ] } ```