I have never known any distress that an hour's reading did not relieve.
Baron De MontesquieuRead
That anyone who possesses power has a tendency to abuse it is an eternal truth. They tend to go as far as the barriers will allow.
Interpretation
Power can corrupt those who hold it, leading to potential abuse and overreach.
The quote by Baron De Montesquieu highlights a timeless observation about the nature of power: that individuals in positions of authority often have the propensity to misuse their power. It suggests that the capacity for abuse grows with the level of control one possesses, and that society must establish limits and barriers to prevent such overstepping, reminding us of the importance of checks and balances in governance and leadership.
In practice
In a discussion about political accountability, this quote can emphasize the necessity of oversight.
I have never known any distress that an hour's reading did not relieve.
Law in general is human reason, inasmuch as it governs all the inhabitants of the earth: the political and civil laws of each nation ought to be only the particular cases in which human reason is applied.
To become truly great, one has to stand with people, not above them.
Love of the republic in a democracy, is a love of the democracy; love of the democracy is that of equality. Love of the democracy is likewise that of frugality.
It is not the young people that degenerate; they are not spoiled till those of mature age are already sunk into corruption.
If you would be holy, instruct your children, because all the good acts they perform will be imputed to you.
Nature seems at each man's birth to have marked out the bounds of his virtues and vices, and to have determined how good or how wicked that man shall be capable of being.
In the final analysis, the whole cause of world revolution hinges on the revolutionary struggles of the Asian, African and Latin American people who make up the overwhelming majority of the world's population.
Sense your presence, the naked, unveiled, unclothed beingness. It is untouched by young or old, rich or poor, good or bad, or any other attributes.
Language for me narrates the pictures in my mind. When I work on designing livestock equipment I can test run that equipment in my head like 3-D virtual reality. In fact, when I was in college I used to think that everybody was able to do that.
The books the Holy Spirit is writing are living, and every soul a volume in which the divine author makes a true revelation of his word, explaining it to every heart, unfolding it in every moment.
The movement is everything, the final goal is nothing.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.