QuoteProject
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.
Baron De Montesquieu
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

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.

Themes

PowerAbuseAuthorityCorruptionGovernance

In practice

Example use cases

In a discussion about political accountability, this quote can emphasize the necessity of oversight.

More from Baron De Montesquieu

I have never known any distress that an hour's reading did not relieve.
Baron De MontesquieuRead
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.
Baron De MontesquieuRead
To become truly great, one has to stand with people, not above them.
Baron De MontesquieuRead
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.
Baron De MontesquieuRead
It is not the young people that degenerate; they are not spoiled till those of mature age are already sunk into corruption.
Baron De MontesquieuRead
If you would be holy, instruct your children, because all the good acts they perform will be imputed to you.
Baron De MontesquieuRead

Similar quotes

Secret guilt is by silence revealed.
John DrydenRead
Nobody seems more obsessed by diet than our antimaterialist, otherworldly, New Age, spiritual types. But if the material world is merely illusion, an honest guru should as content with Budweiser and bratwurst as with raw carrot juice, tofu, and seaweed slime.
Edward AbbeyRead
The sinews of war are infinite money.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead
If a person survives an ordinary span of sixty years or more, there is every chance that his or her life as a shapely story has ended and all that remains to be experienced is epilogue. Life is not over, but the story is.
Kurt VonnegutRead
Measures are too often decided, not according to the rules of justice and the rights of the minor party, but by the superior force of an interested and overbearing majority.
James MadisonRead
Only in the heart can one experience the divine presence of truth.
KabirRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.