Quotes by famous people, credited to who said them. Your own quotes must not match any of these. More are added all the time. 1,161,747 quotes Who coined it · How we decide
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Power
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“Apparently she believes she is safe. Evil is essentially stupid, Joe; despite her brilliance, she believes what she wishes to believe. Or it may be that she is willing to risk her own death against the tempting prize of absolute power.”
Robert A. Heinlein (1907–1988) said by 1988 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“See how involved it gets? Clover, bees, nitrogen, escape speed, power, plant-animal balance, gas laws, compound interest laws, meteorology—a mathematical ecologist has to think of everything and think of it ahead of time. Ecology is explosive; what seems like a minor and harmless invasion can change the whole balance.”
Robert A. Heinlein (1907–1988) said by 1988 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Wherever there is power and mass to manipulate, Man can live.”
Robert A. Heinlein (1907–1988) said by 1988 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Son, people do odd things for money, but they’ll do still more drastic things for power over money. Anybody sittin’ close to a billion credits is in danger; it’s like keeping a pet rattlesnake.”
Robert A. Heinlein (1907–1988) said by 1988 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Never underestimate the power of human stupidity.”
Robert A. Heinlein (1907–1988) said by 1988 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Flee the country where a lone man holds all power: It is a nation of slaves. - Speech spoken in Caracas on 1814, January 2nd.”
Simón Bolívar (1783–1830) said by 1830 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Though there might be some published translation of such a statement, it resembles the remark of Maximilien Robespierre, as quoted in Robespierre (1935) by James Matthew Thompson, p. 135: "There is one thing more despi…
“The worst criminals were not the men who did the deed. The crime of mobs and courtiers, infuriated by the lust of vengeance and of power, is not so strange a portent as the exultation of peaceful men, influenced by no present injury or momentary rage, but by the permanent and incurable perversion of moral sense wrought by a distorted piety.”
John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton (1834–1902) said by 1902 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In every age its [liberty's] progress has been beset by its natural enemies, by ignorance and superstition, by lust of conquest and by love of ease, by the strong man's craving for power, and the poor man's craving for food.”
John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton (1834–1902) said by 1902 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is bad to be oppressed by a minority, but it is worse to be oppressed by a majority. For there is a reserve of latent power in the masses which, if it is called into play, the minority can seldom resist. But from the absolute will of an entire people there is no appeal, no redemption, no refuge but treason.”
John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton (1834–1902) said by 1902 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Almost all that has been done for the good of the people has been done since the right lost the monopoly of power, since the rights of property were discovered to be not unlimited.”
John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton (1834–1902) said by 1902 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“History is not a web woven with innocent hands. Among all the causes which degrade and demoralize men, power is the most constant and the most active.”
John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton (1834–1902) said by 1902 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Essays on Freedom and Power, Introduction, p. xlvii (1949)
“There was a physical quality in us resembling the power of electricity or of the magnet, by which when a pair approached within a striking distance they flew together like the needle to the pole or like two objects in electric experiments.”
John Adams (1735–1826) said by 1826 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Complete Book of U.S. Presidents (1984), by William A. DeGregorio, pp. 19–20
“The jaws of power are always open to devour, and her arm is always stretched out, if possible, to destroy the freedom of thinking, speaking, and writing.”
John Adams (1735–1826) said by 1826 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty.”
John Adams (1735–1826) first seen 1772 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Notes for an oration at Braintree (Spring 1772)
“Nip the shoots of arbitrary power in the bud, is the only maxim which can ever preserve the liberties of any people.”
John Adams (1735–1826) said by 1826 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The judicial power ought to be distinct from both the legislative and executive, and independent upon both, that so it may be a check upon both, as both should be checks upon that.”
John Adams (1735–1826) said by 1826 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Omnium rerum domina, virtus. Virtue is the mistress of all things. Virtue is the master of all things. Therefore a nation that should never do wrong must necessarily govern the world. The might of virtue, the power of virtue, is not a very common topic, not so common as it should be.”
John Adams (1735–1826) first seen 1796 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Diary entry (6 August 1796)
“We may appeal to every page of history we have hitherto turned over, for proofs irrefragable, that the people, when they have been unchecked, have been as unjust, tyrannical, brutal, barbarous and cruel as any king or senate possessed of uncontrollable power.”
John Adams (1735–1826) said by 1826 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“All projects of government, formed upon a supposition of continual vigilance, sagacity, and virtue, firmness of the people, when possessed of the exercise of supreme power, are cheats and delusions.”
John Adams (1735–1826) said by 1826 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The fundamental article of my political creed is that despotism, or unlimited sovereignty, or absolute power, is the same in a majority of a popular assembly, an aristocratical council, an oligarchical junto, and a single emperor. Equally arbitrary, cruel, bloody, and in every respect diabolical.”
John Adams (1735–1826) first seen 1815 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Thomas Jefferson (13 November 1815)
“When we say God is a spirit, we know what we mean, as well as we do when we say that the pyramids of Egypt are matter. Let us be content, therefore, to believe him to be a spirit, that is, an essence that we know nothing of, in which originally and necessarily reside all energy, all power, all capacity, all activity, all wisdom, all goodness.”
John Adams (1735–1826) first seen 1820 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Thomas Jefferson (17 January 1820). Often misquoted as "God is an essence that we know nothing of" and attached to a part of his 22 January 1825 letter to Thomas Jefferson.
“Sloan [American colleague artist who started his art by making etchings, c. 1920] not having been abroad [in contrary to Hopper himself], has seen these things with a truer and fresher eye than most..The hard early training has given to Sloan a facility and a power of invention that the pure painter seldom achieves.”
Edward Hopper (1882–1967) said by 1967 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In: 'Joan Sloan' Hopper', p. 172; as quoted in Edward Hopper, Gail Levin, Bonfini Press, Switzerland 1984, p. 39
“I want the seals of power and place, The ensigns of command, Charged by the people's unbought grace, To rule my native land. Nor crown, nor scepter would I ask But from my country's will, By day, by night, to ply the task Her cup of bliss to fill.”
John Quincy Adams (1767–1848) first seen 1841 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Wants of Man, stanza 22 (25 September 1841)
“The barbarian chieftain, who defended his country against the Roman invasion, driven to the remotest extremity of Britain, and stimulating his followers to battle, by all that has power of persuasion upon the human heart, concludes his exhortation by an appeal to these irresistible feelings — "Think of your forefathers and of your posterity.”
John Quincy Adams (1767–1848) said by 1848 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“WITH GREAT POWER THERE MUST ALSO COME----------GREAT RESPONSIBILITY!”
Stan Lee (1922–2018) first seen 1962 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Amazing Fantasy #15 (August 1962) – The first Spider-Man story.
“The House of Lords, an illusion to which I have never been able to subscribe — responsibility without power, the prerogative of the eunuch throughout the ages.”
Tom Stoppard (1937–2025) first seen 1931 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: This is a reference to a quote of Rudyard Kipling, "Power without responsibility — the prerogative of the harlot throughout the ages," which became widely known after being quoted by prime minister Stanley Baldwin in a …
“Junk journalism is the evidence of a society that has got at least one thing right, that there should be nobody with the power to dictate where responsible journalism begins.”
Tom Stoppard (1937–2025) said by 2025 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The power and influence of a movie star is curious: I didn't ask for it or take it; people gave it to me. Simply because you're a movie star, people empower you with special rights and privileges.”
Marlon Brando (1924–2004) first seen 1994 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Songs My Mother Taught Me (1994)
“We want to tell American parents that they and they alone have total power to control every hour of television programming that comes into their home.”
Jack Valenti (1921–2007) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "US TV industry plans June ad campaign on decency" Reuters news agency (24 April 2006)
“In war, numbers alone confer no advantage. Do not advance relying on sheer military power.”
Sun Tzu (544–470 BC) said by 470 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If you can't trust a Methodist with absolute power to arrest people and not have to say why, then whom can you trust?”
Garrison Keillor (born 1942) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Congress's Shameful Retreat From American Values" in The Chicago Tribune (4 October 2006)
“God made the mind but He never made a stoplight. And when He saw that 'There is no stop in this mind which I have made,' He was very sorry. He had to take a form. The form of Guru is nobody but Himself, the whole that you want to see. The whole power is now in the form of a body. That is the body which is the 'Supremest' of all, and its duties, works are not like those of humanity.”
Prem Rawat (born 1957) first seen 1971 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: (responding to a question about the word satguru), Alta Loma Terrace Satsang, 1971 - reproduced from Elan Vital magazine, vol. II, issue 1
“The increasing influence of the Bible is marvelously great, penetrating everywhere. It carries with it a tremendous power of freedom and justice guided by a combined force of wisdom and goodness.”
Thomas More (1478–1535) said by 1535 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Reported in Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert, Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895), p. 34.
“Ladies and gentlemen to hell with the marvellous power of storytelling. If the audience for science fiction wanted storytelling, they wouldn't read goddamned science fiction, they'd read Harpers and Redbook and Argosy... We're not into science fiction because it's "good literature," we're into it because it's weird.”
Bruce Sterling (born 1954) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Women do desperately need models for power other than the maternal.”
Lois McMaster Bujold (born 1949) first seen 1999 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Correspondence with feminist scholar and author Sylvia Kelso, published in Women of Other Worlds (1999), also quoted in "Women’s Hero Journey : An Interview With Lois McMaster Bujold on Paladin of Souls by Alan Oak at W…
“Leadership is mostly a power over imagination, and never more so than in combat. The bravest man alone can only be an armed lunatic. The real strength lies in the ability to get others to do your work.”
Lois McMaster Bujold (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If it ever came down to exerting power by force, it would mean I’d already lost it.”
Lois McMaster Bujold (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I suppose my determination to be a soldier stems from that date. I mean the real thing, not the parades and the uniforms and the glamour, but the logistics, the offensive advantage, the speed and surprise—the power. A better-prepared, stronger, tougher, faster, meaner son-of-a-bitch than any who came through that door.”
Lois McMaster Bujold (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Is she pretty?” “Yeah, if you happen to like blond power-mad homicidal maniacs, I suppose she could be quite overwhelming.”
Lois McMaster Bujold (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You can’t give power away and keep it simultaneously. Except posthumously.”
Lois McMaster Bujold (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Power is safety.” “Let me give you a hint,” said Miles. “There is no safety. Only varying states of risk. And failure.”
Lois McMaster Bujold (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Power corrupts, but we want energy.”
Lois McMaster Bujold (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Knowledge might not be power, but ignorance was definitely weakness, and so was poverty.”
Lois McMaster Bujold (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“People have some very odd illusions about power. Mostly it consists of finding a parade and nipping over to place yourself at the head of the band. Just as eloquence consists of persuading people of things they desperately want to believe. Demagoguery, I suppose, is eloquence sliding to some least moral energy level.”
Lois McMaster Bujold (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If power was an illusion, wasn’t weakness necessarily one also?”
Lois McMaster Bujold (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The over-bearing insolence of ignorant men, who had arisen to sudden wealth by successful gambling, made men of true gentility of mind and manners blush that gold should have power to raise the unworthy in the scale of society.”
Charles Mackay (author) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“While the Jeffersonian did not flatly deny the Creator's power to perform miracles, he admired His refusal to do so.”
Daniel J. Boorstin (1914–2004) said by 2004 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The sea — this truth must be confessed — has no generosity. No display of manly qualities — courage, hardihood, endurance, faithfulness — has ever been known to touch its irresponsible consciousness of power.”
Joseph Conrad (1857–1924) said by 1924 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The imbecile bourgeoisie of this country make themselves the accomplices of the very people whose aim is to drive them out of their houses to starve in ditches. And they have the political power still, if they only had the sense to use it for their preservation.”
Joseph Conrad (1857–1924) said by 1924 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The people who fear humour — and they are many — are suspicious of its power to present things in unexpected lights, to question received opinions and to suggest unforeseen possibilities.”
Robertson Davies (1913–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source