Quotes About Power

As a child she had believed that wrongs would always be righted, that somehow the world would not let the innocent suffer, but now she realised that this was not true. Old oppressors were replaced by new ones, from another distant place or from right next door. Old lies were replaced by new ones, backed up by old threats.

Big Lou sighed. "The Devil's just a tattie-bogle. And there's no such place as Hell, Bob." Bob hesitated. "No, I don't think there is. But why did they tell us all that?" "It was a useful threat, Bob. Fear works. It secured compliance.

As she spoke, Isabel found herself thinking of the power of words. A single word, a phrase, a sentence or two could have such extraordinary power; could end a world, break a heart or, as in this case, consign another to moral purdah.

But then she reminded herself that there were plenty of people who were afraid of the police, even if they had clear consciences. These were people who had been the victims of bullying when young--bullying by severe teachers, by stronger children; there were so many ways in which people could be crushed. Such people might feat the police in the same way in which they feared all authority.

And then," continued the clerk, "they send those students out at the end of their course and say, 'Go off and use those big words and long sentences to get all the good, high-paying jobs. And once you're in those jobs, always remember to use long sentences to protect your position. If you use long sentences, nobody will dare remove you. That is an important rule that we have worked out.' That is what they say, Mma—I have heard it on very good authority.

especially when it came to his triumphant denunciations of his political enemies, each of whom, she suspected, were only too relieved that it was him rather than they who had been caught. She

We all know that it is women who take the decisions, but we have to let men think that the decisions are theirs. It is an act of kindness on the part of women.

Mr Mandela, who had given his whole life for justice and had never once thought of himself. How unlike these people were modern politicians, who thought only of power and tricks.

Matrons ran hospitals. There may have been doctors around, and some of these doctors may have been allowed to use titles that suggested that they were in charge, but everyone knew that the person doing the real work of running the hospital was Matron.

Nobody challenged men openly, of course, but when women spoke now amongst themselves" (pg.33)

In spite of her limited stature, Mma Pula-Pula had about her a strong confident air of authority. But it was not authority of the sort that one would encounter in a school principal or a magistrate or somebody of that sort: this was the authority of the bully.

It is I who will beat her if she tries anything. I am a traditionally built lady, you know, and if there are any bad people who try to push me around—or to beat me—then I can sit on them very quickly. And if I do that, then they cannot breathe—all the air goes out of their lungs and they cry out, 'I am not

She was struck by the naked effrontery of it--an effrontery that was there, she supposed in all deliberate crime. By his acts, the criminal effectively said to the victim: You don't matter.

That was what academic freedom was all about, Herr Huber thought. It was the freedom to do what one liked and not be challenged by people lower down the pecking order who did not like what you did.

We do not want people thinking that we're trying to start a dynasty," he explained. "You know how you get those politicians who are sons of other politicians and grandsons of even more politicians. I do not think that is very democratic, and so I shall not be involved in this campaign, even if I fully support it

We live without power of law, like flocks of ravens they come and sweep over the land.

This, then, is the fate of your sons, Oh Rome, oh celebrated power! Singer of love, singer of the gods, Tell me, what is glory? A hollow rumbling from the grave, a praising voice, A sound speeding from generation to generation? Or under the shade of a smoky shelter The tale of a wild gypsy?

S?radan, küçük bir kâtiptir, menzil bekçisi oldu mu diktatör kesilir. - Prens Viyazemski

Allegiance to the sovereign or the people? Why should we care? To hell with it. By no one Held to account, to serve oneself alone, And please oneself, and breathe without delivering One's conscience, thoughts or neck to power or livery; To wander as one wishes, take one's fill Of nature's beauty, perfect art, and thrill – There's happiness!

Words! They seemed his only experience, his only sophistications. And yet what were they? Merciless little creatures, crowding about and eager for command, each with its own physical character, an ancestry, an expectation of life and a hope of posterity.

And for the majority of the country, Freedom did not include access to the sidewalks, the best schools and hospitals, decent farming land or the right to vote. It now seems completely clear to me, looking back, that when a government talks about "fighting for Freedom" almost every Freedom you can imagine disappears for ordinary people and expands limitlessly for a handful of people in power.

Students didn't much like those who verbally or physically beat the crap out of them. But when researchers began measuring aggression alongside perceived popularity, they found an undeniably strong link. Recent studies conclude that aggressive behaviors are now often associated with high social status. Psychologists no longer view aggression as a last-resort tactic of social misfits. Now they see aggression as a means toward social success. (This does not, however, mean it is admired.)

Yet man will never be perfect until he learns to create and destroy; he does know how to destroy, and that is half the battle.

And now,' said the unknown, 'farewell kindness, humanity, and gratitude! Farewell to all the feelings that expand the heart! I have been heaven's substitute to recompense the good - now the god of vengeance yields to me his power to punish the wicked!