Man, in spite of his fatal degradation, bears always the evident marks of his divine origin, in that every universal belief is always more or less true.
Joseph De MaistreRead
Man is insatiable for power; he is infantile in his desires and, always discontented with what he has, loves only what he has not. People complain of the despotism of princes; they ought to complain of the despotism of man.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on humanity's endless yearning for power and dissatisfaction with what one possesses.
Joseph De Maistre's quote suggests that humans are inherently greedy and discontent, always craving more power and unable to appreciate what they already have. He critiques not just the tyranny of rulers but highlights a deeper, collective human nature that leads to perpetual dissatisfaction, emphasizing that the real despotism lies within humanity itself.
Themes
PowerDesireDiscontentHuman NatureGreed
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about leadership and the nature of power during a seminar.
More from Joseph De Maistre
All quotes →A constitution that is made for all nations is made for none.
Joseph De MaistreRead
False opinions are like false money, struck first of all by guilty men and thereafter circulated by honest people who perpetuate the crime without knowing what they are doing.
Joseph De MaistreRead
Reason speaks in words alone, but love has a song.
Joseph De MaistreRead
Man in harmony with his Creator is sublime, and his action is creative; equally, once he separates himself from God and acts alone, he does not cease to be powerful, since this is the privilege of his nature, but his acts are negative and lead only to destruction.
Joseph De MaistreRead
Wherever an altar is found, there civilization exists.
Joseph De MaistreRead
Similar quotes
God belongs to all free beings. He is the life of all, the salvation of all ~faithful and unfaithful, just and unjust, pious and impious, passionate and dispassionate, monks and laymen, wise and simple, healthy and sick, young and old just as the effusion of light, the sight of the sun, and the changes of the seasons are for all alike; 'for there is no respect of persons with God.'
John ClimacusRead
He that offereth sacrifice of the goods of the poor is as one that sacrificeth the son in the presence of his father.
Saint PatrickRead
All has gone to rest, and I don't know whether I'm alive or will live or whether I'm rushing like this through the world for I'm not longer weeping or laughing
Taras ShevchenkoRead
Of course, there is no reconciliation between the theory of evolution by natural selection and the traditional religious view of the origin of the human mind.
E. O. WilsonRead
Reality TV is sleazy, it is manipulative. It is as momentary as anything in popular culture.
Morley SaferRead
Power-lust is a weed that grows only in the vacant lots of an abandoned mind.
Ayn RandRead