--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: changeful, occasionally wise and…" description: "\"“changeful, occasionally wise and sympathetic. He knew how intelligent men could be broken by the stupidity of their superiors, how weeks of patient wo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f06/john-le-carre-651_mendel_changeful-occasionally-wise-and-sympathe_3002696.jpg" --- # changeful, occasionally wise and sympathetic. He knew how… ![“changeful, occasionally wise and sympathetic. He knew how intelligent men could be broken by the stupidity of their superiors, how weeks of patient work night and day could be cast aside by such a man. Mendel” quote by John le Carré](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f06/john-le-carre-651_mendel_changeful-occasionally-wise-and-sympathe_3002696.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f06/john-le-carre-651_mendel_changeful-occasionally-wise-and-sympathe_3002696.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f06/john-le-carre-651_mendel_changeful-occasionally-wise-and-sympathe_3002696.jpg) > ““changeful, occasionally wise and sympathetic. He knew how intelligent men could be broken by the stupidity of their superiors, how weeks of patient work night and day could be cast aside by such a man. Mendel”” [John le Carré](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Intelligent people can be crushed by foolish superiors, and hard work can be undone by a single poor decision. **In simple terms:** Smart people suffer under stupid leaders; effort can be wasted. Key Takeaway Beware authority and protect diligent work. Themes power intelligence leadership work ethic Mood cautious critical reflective Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - corporate management - military command - academic research - personal projects Key Concepts psychology organizational behavior human frailty Questions to Reflect On - How do you safeguard your work from poor decisions? - What signs indicate a leader’s incompetence? A Different Perspective Even wise leaders can make disastrous choices that nullify effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Intelligent Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligent-men-336574/) [Knew Intelligent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knew-intelligent-3416163/) [Man Mendel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-mendel-4774455/) [Mendel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mendel/) [Wise Sympathetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise-sympathetic-563910/) ## Related quotes > [“He knew how intelligent men could be broken by the stupidity of their superiors, how weeks of patient work night and day could be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/he-knew-how-intelligent-men-could-be-broken-by-the-stupidity-of-their/) [John le Carré](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [“What she needed was just one person, one wise and sympathetic grown-up who could help her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roald-dahl/what-she-needed-was-just-one-person-one-wise-and-sympathetic-grown-up/) [Roald Dahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roald-dahl/) > [“There was a pause. Mendel said: 'It's the devil you don't know that gets you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/there-was-a-pause-mendel-said-it-s-the-devil-you-don-t-know-that-gets/) [John le Carré](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [She suddenly saw Wimsey in a new light. She knew him to be intelligent, clean, courteous, wealthy, well-read, amusing and enamored, but he had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/she-suddenly-saw-wimsey-in-a-new-light-she-knew-him-to-be-intelligent/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [“Mendel hated motorists. Give a man a car of his own and he leaves humility and common sense behind him in the garage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/mendel-hated-motorists-give-a-man-a-car-of-his-own-and-he-leaves/) [John le Carré](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [“Harriet was silent. She suddenly saw Wimsey in a new light. 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A Newton who binds the universe together in uniform law; Lagrange, Laplace, Leibnitz with their wondrous mathematical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-william-sanderson/mighty-men-of-science-and-mighty-deeds-a-newton-who-binds-the/) [Frederick William Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-william-sanderson/) > [“Six decades and two years, no more than a passing glance of time, separate Mendel's initial experiments on peas and the court-mandated sterilization of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siddhartha-mukherjee/six-decades-and-two-years-no-more-than-a-passing-glance-of-time/) [Siddhartha Mukherjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siddhartha-mukherjee/) ## More by John le Carré > [The creation of George Smiley, the retired spy recalled to hunt for just such a high-ranking mole in 'Tinker, Tailor,' was extremely personal. 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They're the whores and angels of our striving selves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/ideologies-have-no-heart-of-their-own-they-re-the-whores-and-angels/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [Home's where you go when you run out of homes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/home-s-where-you-go-when-you-run-out-of-homes/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [“Pain observed is journalistic pain. It's diplomatic pain. It's television pain, over as soon as you switch off your beastly set.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/pain-observed-is-journalistic-pain-it-s-diplomatic-pain-it-s/) [John le Carré](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [The greatest threat to mankind comes from the renunciation of individual scruple in favor of institutional denominators. . . . Real heroism lies, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/the-greatest-threat-to-mankind-comes-from-the-renunciation-of/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [“and the wood smoke will roll out of the fireplace on to the carpet we paid too much for on that rainy afternoon in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/and-the-wood-smoke-will-roll-out-of-the-fireplace-on-to-the-carpet-we/) [John le Carré](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [“Middle children weep longer than their brothers and sisters. Over her mother’s shoulder, stilling her pains and her injured pride, Jackie Lacon watched the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/middle-children-weep-longer-than-their-brothers-and-sisters-over-her/) [John le Carré](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [For decades to come the spy world will continue to be the collective couch where the subconscious of each nation is confessed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/for-decades-to-come-the-spy-world-will-continue-to-be-the-collective/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [I happen to write by hand. I don't even type. John Le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/i-happen-to-write-by-hand-i-don-t-even-type-john-le-carre/) [John Le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [The more identities a man has, the more they express the person they conceal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/the-more-identities-a-man-has-the-more-they-express-the-person-they/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) [Explore all 409 John le Carré quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) ## More Mendel quotes > [“Six decades and two years, no more than a passing glance of time, separate Mendel's initial experiments on peas and the court-mandated sterilization of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siddhartha-mukherjee/six-decades-and-two-years-no-more-than-a-passing-glance-of-time/) [Siddhartha Mukherjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siddhartha-mukherjee/) > [“Mighty men of science and mighty deeds. 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Mendel questioned her with a look, and Line tried to clarify her thought: "Born, expelled. Russia conceived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/primo-levi/we-were-also-born-line-said-abruptly-mendel-questioned-her-with-a/) [Primo Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/primo-levi/) > [“Mendel had a remarkable nature as a boy. I’m not talking about miracles. Miracles are a burden for a tzaddik, not the proof of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/mendel-had-a-remarkable-nature-as-a-boy-i-m-not-talking-about/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [The fundamental biological variant is DNA. That is why Mendel's definition of the gene as the unvarying bearer of hereditary traits, its chemical identification…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-monod/the-fundamental-biological-variant-is-dna-that-is-why-mendel-s/) [Jacques Monod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-monod/) > [ originality" is everyone's aim, and novel techniques are as much prized as new scientific discoveries. \[T.S.\] Eliot states it with surprising naïveté: "It is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/originality-is-everyone-s-aim-and-novel-techniques-are-as-much-prized/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [The foundations of population genetics were laid chiefly by mathematical deduction from basic premises contained in the works of Mendel and Morgan and their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodosius-dobzhansky/the-foundations-of-population-genetics-were-laid-chiefly-by/) [Theodosius Dobzhansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodosius-dobzhansky/) > [ “Not that he \[Uzbek\] rejected Mendel's proposals or rebelled against his decisions; but he exercised a subtle, passive abrasion against every active thrust: like… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/primo-levi/not-that-he-uzbek-rejected-mendel-s-proposals-or-rebelled-against-his/) [Primo Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/primo-levi/) > [“Holding a precious book meant to Mendel what an assignment with a woman might to another man. These moments were his platonic nights of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-zweig/holding-a-precious-book-meant-to-mendel-what-an-assignment-with-a/) [Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-zweig/) > [“Once more, he was immersing himself in books, reaching the end of long articles, even going back over paragraphs to make sure he'd grasped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-highmore/once-more-he-was-immersing-himself-in-books-reaching-the-end-of-long/) [Julie Highmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-highmore/) > [Even Johannes Kepler, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Gregor Mendel, and Albert Einstein made serious mistakes. But the scientific enterprise arranges things so that teamwork…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/even-johannes-kepler-isaac-newton-charles-darwin-gregor-mendel-and/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [There were lots of little boys having their bar mitzvahs all over the world, and they sent me tapes of some of them that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/there-were-lots-of-little-boys-having-their-bar-mitzvahs-all-over-the/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) > [“Just as an astronomer, alone in an observatory, watches night after night through a telescope the myriads of stars, their mysterious movements, their changeful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-zweig/just-as-an-astronomer-alone-in-an-observatory-watches-night-after/) [Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-zweig/) [Browse all 27 Mendel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mendel/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“changeful, occasionally wise and sympathetic. 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