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Power
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“Clairvoyant, n.: A person, commonly a woman, who has the power of seeing that which is invisible to her patron, namely, that he is a blockhead.”
Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Vote, v. The instrument and symbol of a freeman's power to make a fool of himself and a wreck of his country.”
Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The true characteristic of all British strategy lies in the use of amphibious power. Not the sea alone, but the land and the sea together: not the Fleet alone, but the Army in the hand of the Fleet.”
Winston Churchill (1874–1965) first seen 1916 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Great Amphibian, The Sunday Pictorial, 23 July 1916.
“Might a bomb no bigger than an orange be found to possess a secret power to destroy a whole block of buildings — nay to concentrate the force of a thousand tons of cordite and blast a township at a stroke?.”
Winston Churchill (1874–1965) first seen 1924 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Pall Mall Gazette (1924) on HG Wells' suggestion of an atomic bomb, in "BBC Article
“Everything is overshadowed by the impending trial of will-power which is developing in Europe. I think we shall have to choose in the next few weeks between war and shame, and I have very little doubt what the decision will be.”
Winston Churchill (1874–1965) first seen 1922 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to David Lloyd George (13 August 1938), quoted in Martin Gilbert, Prophet of Truth: Winston S. Churchill, 1922–1939 (1976), p. 962
“The contrast between the morals at the centre of power and those practiced by wide communities in many subject lands presented problems of ever growing unrest.”
Winston Churchill (1874–1965) said by 1965 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Anarchy is the stepping stone to absolute power.”
Napoleon (1769–1821) first seen 1804 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Napoleon Bonaparte, Napoleon's War Maxims: With His Social and Political Thoughts (1804-15), Gale & Polden, (1899) p. 148
“Commerce unites men and make them; therefore it is fatal to despotic power.”
Napoleon (1769–1821) first seen 1804 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Napoleon Bonaparte, Napoleon's War Maxims: With His Social and Political Thoughts (1804-15), Gale & Polden, (1899) p. 150
“Mahomet was a great man, an intrepid soldier; with a handful of men he triumphed at the battle of Bender [sic]; a great captain, eloquent, a great man of state, he revived his fatherland and created a new people and a new power in the middle of Arabia.”
Napoleon (1769–1821) said by 1821 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Napoleon I of France in Précis des guerres de César, Gosselin, 1836, edited by Comte Marchand, p. 237. This work was written by Napoleon during his exile on St. Helena. Translated by Ziad Elmarsafy in The Enlightenment …
“Muhammad was a great man, an intrepid soldier; with a handful of men he triumphed at the battle of Bender (sic); a great captain, eloquent, a great man of state, he revived his fatherland and created a new people and a new power in the middle of Arabia.”
Napoleon (1769–1821) first seen 1817 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Statement of 1817 quoted in Précis des guerres de César, écrit à Sainte-Hélène sous la dictée de l'empereur (1836) edited by Comte Marchand, p. 237. This work was written by Napoleon during his exile on St. Helena. Tran…
“When you have an enemy in your power, deprive him of the means of ever injuring you.”
Napoleon (1769–1821) said by 1821 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Power is founded upon opinion.”
Napoleon (1769–1821) said by 1821 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The great mass of society are far from being depraved; for if a large majority were criminal or inclined to break the laws, where would the force or power be to prevent or constrain them? And herein is the real blessing of civilization, because this happy result has its origin in her bosom, growing out of her very nature.”
Napoleon (1769–1821) said by 1821 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In politics nothing is immutable. Events carry within them an invincible power. The unwise destroy themselves in resistance. The skillful accept events, take strong hold of them and direct them.”
Napoleon (1769–1821) said by 1821 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You cannot drag a man's conscience before any tribunal, and no one is answerable for his religious opinions to any power on earth.”
Napoleon (1769–1821) said by 1821 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To plan to reserve cavalry for the finish of the battle, is to have no conception of the power of combined infantry and cavalry charges, either for attack or for defense.”
Napoleon (1769–1821) said by 1821 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The great secret of power is never to will to do more than you can accomplish. The great secret of action and victory is to be capable of living your life without ideals. Such is the sum of the whole world's wisdom.”
Henrik Ibsen (1828–1906) said by 1906 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in The Ibsen Calendar : A Quotation from the Works of Henrik Ibsen for Every Day (1913) by C. A. Arfwedson
“Pasteboard pies and paper flowers are being banished from the stage by the growth of that power of accurate observation which is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it...”
George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) first seen 1890 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In The World (18 July 1894), Music in London 1890-1894: Being Criticisms Contributed Week by Week to The World (New York: Vienna House, 1973)
“Some of the things Mussolini has done, and some that he is threatening to do go further in the direction of Socialism than the English Labour Party could yet venture if they were in power.”
George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) first seen 1927 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to a friend, "Bernard Shaw's Defence of Mussolini" (7 February 1927)
“Socialists must be in favor of an aristocratic form of government. We must have the best men for the job . . . In the dictator you must have a man who has not only the power to govern but the force of character to impose himself as dictator whether you like him or not.”
George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) first seen 1927 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Socialism urged to find dictator", Berkeley Daily Gazette (30 November 1927)
“There is no problem so complicated that you can't find a very simple answer to it if you look at it right … Or put it another way, "The future of computer power is pure simplicity.”
Douglas Adams (1952–2001) said by 2001 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The monuments of wit survive the monuments of power.”
Francis Bacon (1561–1626) first seen 1595 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Essex's Device (1595)
“It is not the pleasure of curiosity, nor the quiet of resolution, nor the raising of the spirit, nor victory of wit, nor faculty of speech (…) that are the true ends of knowledge (…), but it is a restitution and reinvesting, in great part, of man to the sovereignty and power, for whensoever he shall be able to call the creatures by their true names, he shall again command them.”
Francis Bacon (1561–1626) first seen 1603 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Valerius Terminus: Of the Interpretation of Nature (ca. 1603), in Works, Vol. I, p. 83; The Works of Francis Bacon (1819), Vol. 2, p. 133
“Only charity admitteth no excess. For so we see, aspiring to be like God in power, the angels transgressed and fell; Ascendam, et ero similis altissimo: by aspiring to be like God in knowledge, man transgressed and fell; Eritis sicut Dii, scientes bonum et malum: but by aspiring to a similitude of God in goodness or love, neither man nor angel ever transgressed, or shall transgress.”
Francis Bacon (1561–1626) said by 1626 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The unassisted hand and the understanding left to itself possess but little power. Effects are produced by the means of instruments and helps, which the understanding requires no less than the hand; and as instruments either promote or regulate the motion of the hand, so those that are applied to the mind prompt or protect the understanding.”
Francis Bacon (1561–1626) said by 1626 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Human knowledge and human power meet in one; for where the cause is not known the effect cannot be produced. Nature to be commanded must be obeyed; and that which in contemplation is as the cause is in operation as the rule.”
Francis Bacon (1561–1626) said by 1626 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“since our leading men think themselves in a seventh heaven, if there are bearded mullets in their fish-ponds that will come to hand for food, and neglect everything else, do not you think that I am doing no mean service if I secure that those who have the power, should not have the will, to do any harm?”
Cicero (107–43 BC) said by 43 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I repeat that all power is a trust; that we are accountable for its exercise; that from the people, and for the people all springs, and all must exist.”
Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881) said by 1881 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Also quoted by: Benjamin Disraeli (earl Beaconsfield)
“Your aim is to reduce every thing to your own mean level—to degrade every thing to your malignant standard... In all your conduct it is not difficult to detect the workings of a mean and long mortified spirit suddenly invested with power,—the struggles of a strong ambition attempting, by a wanton exercise of authority, to revenge the disgrace of a feeble intellect.”
Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881) first seen 1836 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 'Letter VII. to Lord John Russell' (30 January 1836), The Letters of Runnymede (1836), pp. 60-61
“Above all, maintain the line of demarcation between parties; for it is only by maintaining the independence of party that you can maintain the integrity of public men, and the power and influence of Parliament itself.”
Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881) first seen 1846 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech in the House of Commons (22 January 1846), quoted in Selected Speeches of the Late Right Honourable the Earl of Beaconsfield, Volume I, ed. T. E. Kebbel (1882), p. 110
“It is vital to your Majesty's authority and power at this critical moment, that the Canal should belong to England.”
Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881) first seen 1860 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Queen Victoria (18 November 1875), quoted in William Flavelle Monypenny and George Earle Buckle, The Life of Benjamin Disraeli, Earl of Beaconsfield. Volume II. 1860–1881 (1929), p. 783
“Real politics are the possession and distribution of power.”
Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881) said by 1881 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You shall have joy, or you shall have power, said God; you shall not have both.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) first seen 1842 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: October 1842
“Our condition is like that of the poor wolves: if one of the flock wound himself, or so much as limp, the rest eat him up incontinently. That serene Power interposes the check upon the caprices and officiousness of our wills.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) said by 1882 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Whoso walketh in solitude, And inhabiteth the wood, Choosing light, wave, rock, and bird, Before the money-loving herd, Into that forester shall pass From these companions power and grace.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) said by 1882 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I find men victims of illusion in all parts of life. Children, youths, adults, and old men, all are led by one bawble or another. Yoganidra, the goddess of illusion, Proteus, or Momus, or Gylfi's Mocking, — for the Power has many names, — is stronger than the Titans, stronger than Apollo.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) said by 1882 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There is no knowledge that is not power.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) said by 1882 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[The Upanishads and the Vedas] haunt me. In them I have found eternal compensation, unfathomable power, unbroken peace.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) said by 1882 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted in S. Londhe, A Tribute to Hinduism (2008)
“A vivid thought brings the power to paint it; and in proportion to the depth of its source is the force of its projection.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) said by 1882 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The ideal revolutionary command should effectively direct all planning and implementation. It must not allow the growth of any other rival center of power. There must be one command pooling and directing the subsequent governmental departments, including the armed forces.”
Saddam Hussein (1937–2006) first seen 1971 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Baghdad Domestic Service, March 20, 1971, quoted in Saddam Hussein: a political biography (2002) by Efraim Karsh and Inari Rautsi.
“I know that there are scores of people plotting to kill me, and this is not difficult to understand. After all, did we not seize power by plotting against our predecessors? However, I am far cleverer than they are. I know they are conspiring to kill me long before they actually start planning to do it. This enables me to get them before they have the faintest chance of striking at me.”
Saddam Hussein (1937–2006) first seen 1979 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Summer 1979, quoted in Saddam Hussein: a political biography (2002) by Efraim Karsh and Inari Rautsi.
“For the first time in modern history a Third World state has successfully fought a defensive war — the longest such war between regular armies since the Second World War — without being under the umbrella of a particular military pact or the influence of a particular great power; and without suffering any shackles on its will and independence, or abandoning its principles and policies.”
Saddam Hussein (1937–2006) said by 2006 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The oil is a gift bestowed by God on the Arab nation, to use after centuries of poverty, backwardness and servitude — in raising its living standards, developing its economic, social and cultural conditions, and building up its own power to meet the challenges and conspiracies besetting it.”
Saddam Hussein (1937–2006) said by 2006 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We hope that war will not take place, but if war is forced upon us then Iraq will continue to be here and this country with history of over 8000 years, this country, the cradle of the first civilization of humanity will not finish just like that even though a huge power may want to be like that. Nobody! Nobody should accept that Iraq should finish in such a way!”
Saddam Hussein (1937–2006) said by 2006 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I think the women, therefore, must be concerned with these values, and I return to my statement that if a political party does not have its foundation in the determination to advance a cause that is right and that is moral, then it is not a political party; it is merely a conspiracy to seize power.”
Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969) first seen 1956 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Remarks at Fourth Annual Republican Women's National Conference (6 March 1956)
“Yet the promise of this life is imperiled by the very genius that has made it possible. Nations amass wealth. Labor sweats to create—and turns out devices to level not only mountains but also cities. Science seems ready to confer upon us, as its final gift, the power to erase human life from this planet.”
Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969) said by 1969 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The right of no nation depends upon the date of its birth or the size of its power. As there can be no second class citizens before the law of America, so—we believe—there can be no second-class nations before the law of the world community.”
Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969) said by 1969 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Your race, in its poverty, has unquestionably one really effective weapon—laughter. Power, Money, Persuasion, Supplication, Persecution—these can lift at a colossal humbug,—push it a little—crowd it a little—weaken it a little, century by century: but only Laughter can blow it to rags and atoms at a blast. Against the assault of Laughter nothing can stand.”
Mark Twain (1835–1910) first seen 1897 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Chronicle of Young Satan" (ca. 1897–1900, unfinished), published posthumously in Mark Twain's Mysterious Stranger Manuscripts (1969), ed. William Merriam Gibson (pp. 165–166 in the 2005 paperback printing, )
“Some men worship rank, some worship heroes, some worship power, some worship God, & over these ideals they dispute & cannot unite — but they all worship money.”
Mark Twain (1835–1910) said by 1910 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Money, then, appears as this overturning power both against the individual and against the bonds of society, etc., which claim to be essences in themselves. It transforms fidelity into infidelity, love into hate, hate into love, virtue into vice, vice into virtue, servant into master, master into servant, idiocy into intelligence and intelligence into idiocy.”
Karl Marx (1818–1883) said by 1883 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source