“Those who become drunk with power and have enriched themselves unlawfully while serving, will continue the same path, while they remain in power.”

2007

Last update Oct. 14, 2023. History

Related quotes

Ramakrishna photo
Edith Hamilton photo
Gideon Levy photo
Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. photo

“The power to tax is not the power to destroy while this Court sits.”

Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (1841–1935) United States Supreme Court justice

Panhandle Oil Co. v. Mississippi ex rel. Knox http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?friend=oyez&court=us&vol=277&invol=218, 277 U.S. 233 (1928).
1920s

Margaret Mead photo
Sallustius photo

“Those who believe in the destruction of the world, either deny the existence of the Gods, or, while admitting it, deny God's power.
Therefore he who makes all things by his own power makes all things subsist together with himself.”

Sallustius Roman philosopher and writer

XIII. How things eternal are said to be made.
On the Gods and the Cosmos
Context: Those who believe in the destruction of the world, either deny the existence of the Gods, or, while admitting it, deny God's power.
Therefore he who makes all things by his own power makes all things subsist together with himself. And since his power is the greatest power he must needs be the maker not only of men and animals, but of Gods, men, and spirits. And the further removed the first God is from our nature, the more powers there must be between us and him. For all things that are very far apart have many intermediate points between them.

Roberto Bolaño photo

“Those in power (even if it's only for a little while) known nothing about literature, all they care about is power. And I'll play the fool for my readers, if I feel like it, but never for the powerful.”

Roberto Bolaño (1953–2003) Chilean author

Between Parentheses. Essays, Articles, and Speeches, 1998–2003. ed. Ignacio Echevarría, trans. Natasha Wimmer (New York: New Directions, 2011 [2004]). 358.
Variant: Alternative translation: "Those who have power—even for a short time—know nothing about literature; they are solely interested in power. I can be a clown to my readers, if I damn well please, but never to the powerful." Interview with Mónica Maristain for Playboy (Mexican edition), "The Last Interview" (2003), 102, in: The Last Interview. trans. Sybil Perez (New York: Mellville House, 2009). 93-123

Vladimir Lenin photo

Related topics