--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The powerful hold in deep remembrance an…" description: "\"The powerful hold in deep remembrance an ill-timed pleasantry. [Lat., Facetiarum apud praepotentes in longum memoria est.]\" — Tacitus" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c9/tacitus-1552_ill_the-powerful-hold-in-deep-remembrance-an_2657655.jpg" --- # The powerful hold in deep remembrance an ill-timed… ![“The powerful hold in deep remembrance an ill-timed pleasantry. [Lat., Facetiarum apud praepotentes in longum memoria est.]” quote by Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c9/tacitus-1552_ill_the-powerful-hold-in-deep-remembrance-an_2657655.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c9/tacitus-1552_ill_the-powerful-hold-in-deep-remembrance-an_2657655.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c9/tacitus-1552_ill_the-powerful-hold-in-deep-remembrance-an_2657655.jpg) > “The powerful hold in deep remembrance an ill-timed pleasantry. \[Lat., Facetiarum apud praepotentes in longum memoria est.\]” [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Powerful people cling to past compliments, showing how praise can be weaponized for long‑term influence. **In simple terms:** Leaders remember flattering remarks. Key Takeaway Beware of lingering praise. Themes politics memory influence Mood serious reflective Type historical political When to use this quote - leadership - public relations - strategy Key Concepts flattery historical precedent Questions to Reflect On - Why do leaders cherish compliments? - How does praise affect decision‑making? A Different Perspective Flattery can be manipulative. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Deep Remembrance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deep-remembrance-2401328/) [Ill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ill/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Nostalgia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nostalgia/) [Pleasantries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasantries/) [Pleasantry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasantry-145464/) [Powerful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/powerful/) [Remembrance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remembrance/) [Remembrance Ill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remembrance-ill-2401329/) [Timed Pleasantry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/timed-pleasantry-2401330/) ## Related quotes > [Although I may express myself with some degree of pleasantry the purport of my words is entirely serious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/although-i-may-express-myself-with-some-degree-of-pleasantry-the/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [All pleasantry should be short; and it might even be as well were the serious short also.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/all-pleasantry-should-be-short-and-it-might-even-be-as-well-were-the/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Pleasantry is never good on serious points, because it always regards subjects in that point of view in which it is not the purpose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/pleasantry-is-never-good-on-serious-points-because-it-always-regards/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [“The Dandy is the highest form of existence attainable by the human form. His life is exclusively dedicated to dressing exquisitely, parading about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-temple-and-vic-darkwood/the-dandy-is-the-highest-form-of-existence-attainable-by-the-human/) [Gustav Temple and Vic Darkwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-temple-and-vic-darkwood/) > [“For too long we have been the playthings of massive corporations, whose sole aim is to convert our world into a gargantuan shopping 'mall'.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-temple-and-vic-darkwood/for-too-long-we-have-been-the-playthings-of-massive-corporations/) [Gustav Temple and Vic Darkwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-temple-and-vic-darkwood/) > [The fairest blossoms of pleasantry thrive best where the sun is not strong enough to scorch, nor the soil rank enough to corrupt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-l-estrange/the-fairest-blossoms-of-pleasantry-thrive-best-where-the-sun-is-not/) [Roger L'Estrange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-l-estrange/) > [In one sense what may pass between the pope and myself may be trivialities. In another sense the fact of talking trivialities is itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-fisher/in-one-sense-what-may-pass-between-the-pope-and-myself-may-be/) [Geoffrey Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-fisher/) > [Pleasantries are low entropy, biased so far that they stop being an earnest inquiry and become ritual. Ritual has its virtues, of course, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-christian/pleasantries-are-low-entropy-biased-so-far-that-they-stop-being-an/) [Brian Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-christian/) > [“Anyway, I'm capable of exchanging pleasantries.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-pierce/anyway-i-m-capable-of-exchanging-pleasantries/) [M. Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-pierce/) > [“Mozart creates a universe out of pleasantries.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/mozart-creates-a-universe-out-of-pleasantries/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [For my own part I think no innocent species of wit or pleasantry should be suppressed: and that a good pun may be admitted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/for-my-own-part-i-think-no-innocent-species-of-wit-or-pleasantry/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [Men and women walked casually about as they did on the main floor, every now and then stopping one another, exchanging pleasantries or scraps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ludlum/men-and-women-walked-casually-about-as-they-did-on-the-main-floor/) [Robert Ludlum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ludlum/) > [The archiepiscopal throne of Macedonius, which had been polluted with so much Christian blood, was successively filled by Eudoxus and Damophilus. Their diocese enjoyed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/the-archiepiscopal-throne-of-macedonius-which-had-been-polluted-with/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [As a general rule, do not kick the shins of the opposite gentleman under the table, if personally unaquainted with him; your pleasantry is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-carroll/as-a-general-rule-do-not-kick-the-shins-of-the-opposite-gentleman/) [Lewis Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-carroll/) > [All you'll get from strangers is surface pleasantry or indifference. Only someone who loves you will criticize you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-crist/all-you-ll-get-from-strangers-is-surface-pleasantry-or-indifference/) [Judith Crist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-crist/) ## More by Tacitus > [Benefits received are a delight to us as long as we think we can requite them; when that possibility is far exceeded, they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/benefits-received-are-a-delight-to-us-as-long-as-we-think-we-can/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [Rumor does not always err; it sometimes even elects a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/rumor-does-not-always-err-it-sometimes-even-elects-a-man/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [ None mourn more ostentatiously than those who most rejoice at it \[a death\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/none-mourn-more-ostentatiously-than-those-who-most-rejoice-at-it-a/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [So true is it that all transactions of preeminent importance are wrapt in doubt and obscurity; while some hold for certain facts the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/so-true-is-it-that-all-transactions-of-preeminent-importance-are/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [Be assured those will be thy worst enemies, not to whom thou hast done evil, but who have done evil to thee. 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The hard nerds are the ones who used to have the slide rules at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-kay/in-our-society-we-have-hard-nerds-and-soft-nerds-the-hard-nerds-are/) [Alan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-kay/) > [Love reacts with goodness towards those who ill-treat it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-begg/love-reacts-with-goodness-towards-those-who-ill-treat-it/) [Alistair Begg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-begg/) > [But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-the-effect-of-her-being-on-those-around-her-was-incalculably/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [I will follow my instincts, be myself for good or ill, and see what will be the upshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/i-will-follow-my-instincts-be-myself-for-good-or-ill-and-see-what/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [One reason why my memory decays is that I have three cats, all so loving and insistent that they play cat's-cradle with every train…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/one-reason-why-my-memory-decays-is-that-i-have-three-cats-all-so/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [In any event, it is one thing to assert, then or now, that the Iraq war was ill-advised. It is quite another to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-silberman/in-any-event-it-is-one-thing-to-assert-then-or-now-that-the-iraq-war/) [Laurence Silberman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-silberman/) > [How oft the sight of means to do ill deeds makes ill deeds done!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/how-oft-the-sight-of-means-to-do-ill-deeds-makes-ill-deeds-done/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Ill-fitting grammar are like ill-fitting shoes. You can get used to it for a bit, but then one day your toes fall off and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/ill-fitting-grammar-are-like-ill-fitting-shoes-you-can-get-used-to-it/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) > [Do you think that was kind? Do you think it was godlike? 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