“The good old rule
Sufficeth them, the simple plan,
That they should take, who have the power,
And they should keep who can.”

—  William Wordsworth

Rob Roy's Grave, st. 9.
Memorials of a Tour in Scotland (1803)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "The good old rule Sufficeth them, the simple plan, That they should take, who have the power, And they should keep w…" by William Wordsworth?
William Wordsworth photo
William Wordsworth 306
English Romantic poet 1770–1850

Related quotes

Samuel Butler photo

“Painters should remember that the eye, as a general rule, is a good, simple, credulous organ — very ready to take things on trust if it be told them with any confidence of assertion.”

Samuel Butler (1835–1902) novelist

The Credulous Eye
The Note-Books of Samuel Butler (1912), Part IX - A Painter's Views on Painting

Charles Erwin Wilson photo

“No plan can prevent a stupid person from doing the wrong thing in the wrong place at the wrong time - but a good plan should keep a concentration from forming.”

Charles Erwin Wilson (1890–1961) American secretary of Defence

Charles E. Wilson, quoted in: Louis E. Boone, ‎David L. Kurtz (1987), Management, p. 100

Aristotle photo

“They should rule who are able to rule best.”

Aristotle book Politics

Book II, 1273b.5
Politics

Baba Hari Dass photo

“Using siddhis (powers) is not good for those who possess them. It can also trap the mind into desires. By being pure in mind siddhis will come by itself, and a yogi should not try to show his powers. First thing is to have siddhis and then not to get trapped in siddhis.”

Baba Hari Dass (1923–2018) master yogi, author, builder, commentator of Indian spiritual tradition

Source: The Yellow Book (1974), p.42

Niccolo Machiavelli photo

“He who becomes a Prince through the favour of the people should always keep on good terms with them; which it is easy for him to do, since all they ask is not to be oppressed”

Niccolo Machiavelli book The Prince

Source: The Prince

Jordan Peterson photo

“Those who break the rules ethically are those who have mastered them first and disciplined themselves to understand the necessity of those rules, and break them in keeping with the spirit rather than the letter of the law.”

Jordan Peterson book Beyond Order

Source: Books, Beyond Order (2021), p. 85

Joyce Brothers photo

“Accept that all of us can be hurt, that all of us can — and surely will at times — fail. Other vulnerabilities, like being embarrassed or risking love, can be terrifying, too. I think we should follow a simple rule: if we can take the worst, take the risk.”

Joyce Brothers (1927–2013) Joyce Brothers

As quoted in Wisdom for the Soul: Five Millennia of Prescriptions for Spiritual Healing (2006) by Larry Chang, p. 415

Karl Popper photo

“But I hold that he who teaches that not reason but love should rule opens up the way for those who rule by hate.”

Karl Popper book The Open Society and Its Enemies

Vol. 2, Ch. 24 "Oracular Philosophy and the Revolt against Reason"
The Open Society and Its Enemies (1945)
Context: I do not overlook the fact that there are irrationalists who love mankind, and that not all forms of irrationalism engender criminality. But I hold that he who teaches that not reason but love should rule opens up the way for those who rule by hate. (Socrates, I believe, saw something of this when he suggested that mistrust or hatred of argument is related to mistrust or hatred of man).

Michel De Montaigne photo

“It is not without good reason said, that he who has not a good memory should never take upon him the trade of lying.”

Michel De Montaigne book Essays

Book I, Ch. 9. Of Liars
Essais (1595), Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919)

Muhammad photo

“Narrater Abu Hurairah. Allah's Apostle said, "Anybody who believes in Allah and the Last Day should not harm his neighbor, and anybody who believes in Allah and the Last Day should entertain his guest generously and anybody who believes in Allah and the Last Day should talk what is good or keep quiet.”

Muhammad (570–632) Arabian religious leader and the founder of Islam

[8, 73, 47](Previous Reference for link only. Correct Ref: Bukhari Vol.8 Book78 Hadith6018)
Sunni Hadith

Related topics