Tyranny

Quotes



There is no greater tyranny than that which is perpetrated under the shield of the law and in the name of justice
So long as men worship the Caesars and Napoleons, Caesars and Napoleons will duly arise and make them miserable
Tyrants seldom want pretexts
It is the nature of tyranny and rapacity never to learn moderation from the ill-success of first oppressions; on the contrary, all oppressors, all men thinking highly of the methods dictated by their nature, attribute the frustration of their desires to the want of sufficient rigor
A great deal of the furniture of ancient tyranny is torn to rags; the rest is entirely out of fashion
When the tyrant has disposed of foreign enemies by conquest or treaty, and there is nothing more to fear from them, then he is always stirring up some war or other, in order that the people may require a leader
This and no other is the root from which a tyrant springs; when he first appears he is a protector
The only tyrant I accept in this world is the still voice within
If we must have a tyrant, let him at least be a gentleman who has been bred to the business, and let us fall by the axe and not by the butcher's cleaver
Clever tyrants are never punished
Search

 

On Anger: "For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind."
Essays
On Destiny: "Our destiny exercises its influence over us even when, as yet, we have not learned its nature: it is our future that lays down the law of our today."
Human, All Too Human
On Friendship: "A crowd is not company; and faces are but a gallery of pictures; and talk but a tinkling cymbal, where there is no love."
Essays