[T]here was never a less far-sighted schemer than Northcliffe in the history of the world. His strongest characteristic, and the secret of his success, is that he is so extraordinarily sensitive to the mood of the moment. No one was ever less like a Machiavelli. What he really is, is a master of publicity, and that enables him to associate himself, and to be associated by others, with political movements and events with which in nine cases out of ten he has hardly the remotest connection. If Lloyd George had been wise, he would have asked him to undertake the whole business of foreign propaganda for the nation, and disregarded the jealousy of every other newspaper in the country. He could have justified his choice up to the hilt in that connection. No one would have done it better.

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "[T]here was never a less far-sighted schemer than Northcliffe in the history of the world. His strongest characteristic, and the secret of his success, is that he is so extraordinarily sensitive to the mood of the moment. No one was ever less like a Machiavelli. What he really is, is a master of publicity, and that enables him to associate himself, and to be associated by others, with political movements and events with which in nine cases out of ten he has hardly the remotest connection. If Lloyd George had been wise, he would have asked him to undertake the whole business of foreign propaganda for the nation, and disregarded the jealousy of every other newspaper in the country. He could have justified his choice up to the hilt in that connection. No one would have done it better." in the context of "Geoffrey Dawson, quoted in Evelyn Wrench, Geoffrey Dawson and Our Times (1955), pp. 162-163" to mean that wisdom is timeless.