Quotes About Power

Starting a war is in our hands, it is easy. But ending a war, that is not in our hands and no one knows what will happen.

Een overlevingsstrategie die de morele grondvesten ondermijnt zou ik niet 'overleven' noemen maar 'zelfvernietiging', de aanvaarding van destructieve krachten.

Kurti had believed in politics, and politics had deceived him, the way politics deceives everyone.

The apotheosis of Sincerity to which Tsu-Tsu gives expression in the Doctrine of the Mean attributes to it transcendental powers, almost identifying them with the Divine. "Sincerity is the end and the beginning of all things; without Sincerity there would be nothing." He then dwells with eloquence on its far-reaching and long enduring nature, its power to produce changes without movement and by its mere presence to accomplish its purpose without effort.

I ask, Lord, for daily bread, but not for wealth, lest I forget the poor. I ask for strength, but not for power, lest I despise the meek. I ask for wisdom, but not for learning, lest I condemn the simple. I ask for a clean name, but not for fame, lest I condemn the lowly. I ask for peace of mind, but not for idle hours, lest I fail to hearken to the call of duty.

Virtue and absolute power may strike the Anglo-Saxon mind as terms which it is impossible to harmonize.

Alack the day when a state grows so powerful as to demand of its citizens the dictates of their conscience!

Democracy raises up a natural prince for its leader, and aristocracy infuses a princely spirit among the people.

Ritterlichkeit ist eine Blume, die auf dem Boden Japans nicht weniger heimisch ist als ihr Symbol, die Kirschblüte. Sie ist kein vertrocknetes Blatt einer uralten Tugend, die im Herbarium unserer Geschichte verwahrt wird, sondern ein lebendiges Etwas von Schönheit und Macht, das unter uns weilt.

A cat is a lion in a jungle of small bushes.

One must beware of ministers who can do nothing without money, and those who want to do everything with money.

The meek may one day inherit the earth, but not the headlines.

All my games were political games I was, like Joan of Arc, perpetually being burned at the stake.

This is it, the most powerful thing in the world because all men go crazy for it, more precious than gold since for its sake rich men lose fortunes, sweeter than power because craving for it makes leaders of countries risk their jobs, more powerful than honor because it makes fools of respectable men… It's more powerful than all the world for it contains the whole world plus heaven and hell beside… The power of this grace makes nuclear bombs look like firecrackers.

What happens to people living in a society where everyone in power is lying, stealing, cheating and killing, and in our hearts we all know this, but the consequences of facing all these lies are so monstrous, we keep on hoping that maybe the corporate government administration and media are on the level with us this time. Americans remind me of survivors of domestic abuse. This is always the hope that this is the very, very, very last time one's ribs get re-broken again.

What if one out of every three multinational corporation CEO's were raped every year? Don't you think that would raise a kind of ruckus?

There are two ways to make money in a capitalist, patriarchal setting: 1. Fuck other people over faster and more efficiently than they fuck you over. 2. Whore

Grown-ups and children are not readily encouraged to unearth the power of words. Adults are repeatedly assured a picture is worth a thousand of them, while the playground response to almost any verbal taunt is 'sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.' I don't beg so much as command to differ.

It's like suddenly in the Middle Ages, people figured men should be in charge of women's bodies since they were in charge of pretty much everything else

The individual artist is a medium for making representational and deeply meaningful symbols of the community's collective consciousness, whether they are symbols of the community's religion, love, hurt, power, hate, hope, dream, fables, foibles or on and on and on.

The main freedom involved in using hormonal birth control is freedom from thinking about-and ultimately facing-our reproductive power. This "freedom" essentially results in an ignorance of our bodies which costs us, individually and collectively, dear, dear, dearly. We cannot love ourselves if we do not know ourselves. There is bliss, but no freedom, in ignorance.

All cruelty springs from weakness." —Seneca

Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts. Perhaps the fear of a loss of power." —John Steinbeck

If you have a faith, if you've some deep conviction, whether you're a Nazi or a Communist or what the hell else you are then you can sacrifice yourself and others to your faith. But from the moment you've no faith from that moment you live in a deep inner confusion from then on you're exposed to what Strindberg calls 'the powers'.