As quoted in The Social Dimensions Of Law And Justice In Contemporary India (1979) by V. R. Krishna Iyer
Context: It may be that we are puppets — puppets controlled by the strings of society. But at least we are puppets with perception, with awareness. And perhaps our awareness is the first step to our liberation. The fact that obedience is often a necessity in human society does not diminish our responsibility as citizens. Rather, it confers on us a special obligation to place in positions of authority those most likely to use it humanely. And people are inventive. The variety of political forms we have seen in history are only several of many possible political arrangements. Perhaps the next step is to invent and to explore political forms that will give conscience a better chance to resist errant authority.
“We are only puppets, our strings are being pulled by unknown forces.”
Act II.
Dantons Tod (Danton's Death) (1835)
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Georg Büchner 43
German dramatist and writer of poetry and prose 1813–1837Related quotes

In The Puppet Theatre: Puppetry, Conspiracy and Ouija Boards (p. 136)
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“Remember that what pulls the strings is the force hidden within; there lies the power”
X, 38
Meditations (c. 121–180 AD), Book X
Context: Remember that what pulls the strings is the force hidden within; there lies the power to persuade, there the life,—there, if one must speak out, the real man.

“We’re all puppets, Laurie. I’m just a puppet who can see the strings.”
Source: Doctor Manhattan, in Watchmen #9 (referring to Doctor Manhattans's theory of time)

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“Money is the string with which a sardonic destiny directs the motions of its puppets.”
Quoted in Somerset Maugham (1980) by Ted Morgan