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Power
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“Not a nut or bolt shall reach Chile under Allende. Once Allende comes to power we shall do all within our power to condemn Chile and all Chileans to utmost deprivation and poverty.”
Edward M. Korry (1922–2003) first seen 1970 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Upon hearing of Allende's election, in a report to Henry Kissinger, 1970.
“Truth will do well enough if left to shift for herself. She seldom has received much aid from the power of great men to whom she is rarely known & seldom welcome. She has no need of force to procure entrance into the minds of men. Error indeed has often prevailed by the assistance of power or force. Truth is the proper & sufficient antagonist to error.”
Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) first seen 1776 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Notes on Religion (October 1776), published in The Writings of Thomas Jefferson : 1816–1826 (1899) edited by Paul Leicester Ford, v. 2, p. 102
“It has always been denied by the republican party in this country, that the Constitution had given the power of incorporation to Congress. On the establishment of the Bank of the United States, this was the great ground on which that establishment was combated; and the party prevailing supported it only on the argument of its being an incident to the power given them for raising money.”
Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) first seen 1809 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Dr. Maese (1809) ME 12:231 : The Writings of Thomas Jefferson "Memorial Edition" (20 Vols., 1903-04) edited by Andrew A. Lipscomb and Albert Ellery Bergh, Vol. 12, p. 231; also quoted at "Thomas Jefferson on P…
“A republic is not possible in the Soviet Union because the aim of its rulers is an economic aim. Economic power differs from political power.”
Rose Wilder Lane (1886–1968) said by 1968 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Leaders in all realms and activities of life knew that the power they had come to hold existed because they were responsible to serve the many, thus power was position of service.”
Vanna Bonta (1958–2014) said by 2014 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Peace is for the purification of one's mind. Power is for the growth of the community. Having established the community with power, one should then establish supreme peace.”
Ramana Maharshi (1879–1950) said by 1950 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If other thoughts rise, one should, without attempting to complete them, enquire, 'To whom did they arise?', it will be known 'To me'. If one then enquires 'Who am I?', the mind (power of attention) will turn back to its source. By repeatedly practising thus, the power of the mind to abide in its source increases.”
Ramana Maharshi (1879–1950) said by 1950 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I believe Al-Qaeda today resembles the Leninist, or Communist, movement, before it came to power in 1917, or the Zionist movement of Herzl, before Ben-Gurion brought it to power in Israel.”
Mullah Krekar (born 1956) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Mullah Krekar, Leader of the Al-Qaeda Affiliated "Ansar Al-Islam": Al-Qaeds Resembles the Zionist Movement before the Establishment of the State of Israel, video clip, 8th of July 2007
“Spiritual power is the eternal guide, in this life and the life after, for man ranks supreme among all creatures. Led forward by spiritual power, man can reach the summit destined for him by the Great Creator.”
Haile Selassie (1892–1975) first seen 1951 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On the Nomination of Archbishop Basilios (19 January 1951)
“Christians have oppressed Jews, Moslems, Buddhists, Pagans, and each other throughout their centuries of power, preaching religious intolerance as the word of Jehovah whenever they had the military, political, or economic power to make it stick — and then piously preaching brotherhood, peace, and toleration when they didn't.”
Isaac Bonewits (1949–2010) first seen 1990 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Understanding the Religious Reich (1990; 2005).
“Time and experience have forcefully taught that the power to inspect dwelling places, either as a matter of systematic area-by-area search or, as here, to treat a specific problem, is of indispensable importance in the maintenance of community health; a power that would be greatly hobbled by the blanket requirement of the safeguards necessary for a search of evidence of criminal acts.”
Felix Frankfurter (1882–1965) first seen 1959 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Frank v. Maryland, 359 U.S. 360, 372 (1959); majority opinion in 5-4 ruling that allowed health inspectors to enter a private home without a search warrant (May 4, 1959).
“Marcos is all the exploited, marginalised, oppressed minorities resisting and saying "Enough!" He is every minority who is now beginning to speak and every majority that must shut up and listen. He is every untolerated group searching for a way to speak. Everything that makes power and the good consciences of those in power uncomfortable — this is Marcos.”
Subcomandante Marcos (born 1957) first seen 1994 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Majority Disguised as the Resented Minority" (31 May 1994)
“I keep thinking what happens when the power of love is twisted into the love of power. … When he bought our temple we had an eternal light going. Jim asked us to leave it. He wanted to keep it burning as a sign of our friendship and what we stood for. All last night I kept wondering, where did it go out?”
Maurice Davis (1921–1993) first seen 1978 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On Jim Jones, upon hearing of the mass murders and suicides of Jonestown, as quoted in "Cult Chief's Beginnings in Indianapolis Recalled" by James Feron, The New York Times (22 November 1978); in the early years of Jone…
“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, and hath redeemed us to God by his blood, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. Blessing, and honour, glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. Amen.”
George Frideric Handel (1685–1759) said by 1759 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I think something very weird's going on now, 'cause the power that is permitted to youth is quite extraordinary. And they are sort of run by that kind of power.”
Edie Sedgwick (1943–1971) said by 1971 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Power leads to more power, no matter what your racket, and not only were they rich and influential but they were smart as hell, too.”
Jimmy Hoffa (1913–1975) said by 1975 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
Jesus (6 BC–33) said by 33 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“This bow I held had killed many men, and it had power, dread power, in its ebony stock.”
David Gemmell (1948–2006) said by 2006 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In real-world Finance, they don't pay for elegance. They pay for power - predictive power.”
Robert Haugen (1942–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Both the control of territory and the political domination of one state over another have profound consequences for international economic relations. However... market power or economic power has itself become a principal means by which states seek to organize and manipulate the international division of labor to their own advantage.”
Robert Gilpin (1930–2018) said by 2018 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Nationality is the creative power of human culture, culture is the creative power of nationality.”
A.C. Cuza (1857–1947) first seen 1905 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: From Naționalitatea în artă ("Nationality in Art"), București: Cartea Romaneasca, 1905.
“When people with good intentions don't own and take power, it becomes the preserve of the heartless, ruthless, greedy, narcissistic, psychopaths. That’s why not using power can be just as bad as using it badly.”
Heather Brooke (born 1970) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Look at anyone who uses money, fame or power to fill their inner voids, and you’ll see someone in a clear addiction cycle. They can’t live without their next fix. The next headline, the next million, the next power grab.”
Heather Brooke (born 1970) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Art is no isolated, unconnected, or inexplicable phenomenon. It draws its life from the life of the universe, and with the universe it ascends from epoch to epoch towards the Almighty. It owes its power over the souls of men to that collective life — even as the trees and plants draw their life from earth, the common mother; and its power would be destroyed should it attempt to forsake its source.”
Giuseppe Mazzini (1805–1872) first seen 1861 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Life and Writings of Joseph Mazzini (1864 translation), Preface (1861) Vol. II, p. viii
“It is no more rational to have lawyers in positions of power than it would be to have garbage collectors in positions of power. And in human terms garbage collectors would be preferable.”
Pierre Stephen Robert Payne (1911–1983) said by 1983 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The discipline of poetry may be expected first to teach the evocative power of words, to introduce the student, if we may so put it, to the mighty power of symbolism, and then to show him that there are ways of feeling about things which are not provincial either in space or time.”
Richard Weaver (1910–1963) said by 1963 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Knowledge conceived as an instrument is a means to the end of power. The goal of philosophy, however, is not to gain power over the Absolute but to know it as it truly is.”
Merold Westphal (born 1940) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Book of Job is advice on how to live in terms of the absolute power of nature. Leviathan is advice on how to live in terms of the absolute power of the state.”
Donald Phillip Verene (born 1937) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“For it is no railways, roads, and power stations that give rise to industrial capitalism: it is the emergence of industrial capitalism that leads to the building of railways, to the construction of roads, and to the establishment of power stations.”
Paul A. Baran (1909–1964) said by 1964 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“She knew what she was now. She had a purpose. Freedom was still hers, but it was a purposeful freedom. She would seek responsibility, for freedom without responsibility was worthless, and to that duality she would add power, for responsibility without power was impotence. She would go to Wisdom and enthrone the trinity of liberties within herself.”
Ian McDonald (born 1960) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The violent, antirationalistic impulse in Western countries is reacting to an intellectual state of affairs in which all thinking has become strategy; this impulse shows a disgust for a certain form of self-preservation. It is a sensitive shivering from the cold breath of a reality where knowledge is power and power is knowledge.”
Peter Sloterdijk (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Actually, the answer’s quite simple.” Two red eyes floated in the mist. “Really? Tell me. Why does God allow evil?” The red eyes vanished, leaving only the lantern and the night. “Because power corrupts,” said Wyvern’s disembodied voice. “And absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
James K. Morrow (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Political conflict is not like an intercollegiate debate in which the opponents agree in advance on a definition of the issues. As a matter of fact, the definition of the alternatives is the supreme instrument of power; the antagonists can rarely agree on what the issues are because power is involved in the definition.”
Elmer Eric Schattschneider (1892–1971) said by 1971 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“What bothers me about today's "liberals" is this: through the ages, those called liberal fought to take the power away from the kings and the emperors and to give it to the parliaments; now it is the "liberals" who are anxious to give more and more power to the executive, at the expense of the legislative branch.”
Burton K. Wheeler (1882–1975) first seen 1962 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Yankee from the West (1962), chapter 19, p. 428.
“Never underestimate the power of spiritual expression. It is the power of fusion, bringing and holding all things together in the true design in the creative process.”
Martin Cecil, 7th Marquess of Exeter (1909–1988) said by 1988 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Power as the pursuit of more power inevitably founders in the void that lies beyond itself.”
William Barrett (philosopher) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The economic and political power—and therefore police and military force—at the disposal of the owning class is almost illimitable, and is wielded with a ruthless determination to maintain privilege, prestige, and power.”
Kirby Page (1890–1957) said by 1957 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“National unions embracing a considerable portion of the workers in a given industry are able to exert terrific power in the determination of the relative levels of wages, dividends and interest. To the degree that organized labor is strong, the power of owners is decreased.”
Kirby Page (1890–1957) said by 1957 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In the Baruch proposal our government suggested the creation of the International Authority by the United Nations to which would be given a complete monopoly of all atomic installations, materials and stockpiles. This authority should be given power of inspection and power to call for the punishment of violators.”
Kirby Page (1890–1957) said by 1957 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The essence of capital is its ability to mobilize social labor by buying labor power and setting it to work. This requires a market in which the capacity of human beings to work can be bought and sold like any other commodity: buyers of labor power offer wages, which sellers accept in return for a commodity, their own labor.”
Eric Wolf (1923–1999) said by 1999 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“One of the flabby lines you hear sometimes is, 'Speak truth to power'. Power knows the truth. It's speaking the truth to yourself that's the challenge.”
Barry Sanders (professor) first seen 2011 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Oregon Live Saturday, April 16, 2011
“Russia has always been several centuries behind western civilization. The Church, intrusted with secular power, is joined with the State. It prohibits any change of faith and even possesses the power to deprive a heretic of his property. Moreover, anyone proved to be a heretic or a nonconformist may be sent to a penal colony.”
Robert Hunter (author) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The landed wealth of the Church alone sufficed to make it a power of the highest rank in the feudal system of the Middle Ages, in which all power finally rested on the possession of the land. Bishops and abbots became feudal dignitaries, sometimes almost sovereign princes in their own domains, and always with a potent voice in the government of their nations.”
Walter Rauschenbusch (1861–1918) said by 1918 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“That was Janice, a political woman, conscious of power structure and power itself.”
Grace Paley (1922–2007) said by 2007 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Of course, nuclear power has its risks. But there is no power and nothing in the world without risks, not even love.”
Helmut Schmidt (1918–2015) first seen 2008 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Zeit Online, 23. July 2008
“A few have a great power of listening and attending, but they are only few, and this power gives them a superiority over those who cannot attend.”
George Long (scholar) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If you opt out, you don’t change anything.” “Why should I run round helping to get power for a group of idiots who’ll end up just as dangerous as the ones already in power?” You really don’t think anyone can make things better?” “No. What’s going to happen will happen.”
Jane Rogers (born 1952) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A state can be said to be a neo-colonialist or client state if it is independent de jure and dependent de facto. It is a state where political power lies in the conservative forces of the former colony and where economic power remains under the control of international finance capital.”
Kwame Nkrumah (1909–1972) said by 1972 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“‘Truth is cheap, but information costs.’ I can’t remember who said that.” “Vince What’s-His-Name,” said Sam. “Died in a terrorist raid or something. I thought you said all information should be free.” “It should. It isn’t. Knowledge is power. But power corrupts. Which means the Age of Fast Information is an extremely corrupt age in which to live.” “Aren’t they all?” Sam asked him.”
Pat Cadigan (born 1953) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Power is the medium through which conflicts of interest are ultimately resolved. Power influences who gets what, when, and how.”
Gareth Morgan (business theorist) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source