Pride is founded not on the sense of happiness, but on the sense of power.
William HazlittRead
A King (as such) is not a great man. He has great power, but it is not his own.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True greatness comes from personal merit rather than power held due to position or title.
This quote emphasizes the distinction between true greatness and the authority granted by one's position. Hazlitt suggests that being a king, while powerful, does not inherently make one a great individual; greatness stems from personal qualities and actions, not just from the power one wields due to their title.
Themes
GreatnessPowerTitleLeadershipCharacter
In practice
Example use cases
During a leadership seminar about the responsibilities of power.
More from William Hazlitt
All quotes →The world loves to be amused by hollow professions, to be deceived by flattering appearances, to live in a state of hallucination; and can forgive everything but the plain, downright, simple, honest truth.
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Our repugnance to death increases in proportion to our consciousness of having lived in vain.
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We can bear to be deprived of everything but our self-conceit.
William HazlittRead
There are few things in which we deceive ourselves more than in the esteem we profess to entertain for our firends. It is little better than a piece of quackery. The truth is, we think of them as we please, that is, as they please or displease us.
William HazlittRead
Prosperity is a great teacher; adversity is a greater. Possession pampers the mind; privation trains and strengthens it.
William HazlittRead
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