“Holding the view I do, it is superfluous for me now to answer your argument that “this war has split the world into two camps.” Between Scylla and Charybdis, if I sail in either direction, I suffer shipwreck. Therefore I have to be in the midst of the storm. I suggested a way out. Naturally, it has been rejected, because the powers that be do not want to relax their grip on India.”
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About this quote
When every available option leads to ruin, the honest move is to refuse all of them and hold the hard middle, bearing the storm rather than grabbing a false safe route. A forced choice between two evils is a trap; sometimes integrity means accepting the discomfort of not picking either.
When to use it
- Refusing to take a side in a family feud and quietly enduring pressure from both camps.
- A leader turning down two bad compromises and holding a costly but principled line.
- Declining two tempting yet wrong job offers and sitting with the uncertainty of waiting.