A great empire and little minds go ill together.
Edmund BurkeRead
The tyranny of a multitude is a multiplied tyranny.
Interpretation
What this quote means
A large group can exert oppressive control just as easily as a single tyrant.
Edmund Burke's quote reflects on the nature of tyranny, suggesting that while a single ruler may be viewed as a tyrant, a majority can equally impose oppression through their collective will. This highlights the danger of mob mentality and the potential for democratic systems to become harmful when majority rule disregards the rights of individuals or minorities.
Themes
TyrannyMultitudeMajorityOppressionPhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about democracy, one might say, 'As Edmund Burke noted, the tyranny of a multitude is a multiplied tyranny, reminding us to protect minority rights.'
More from Edmund Burke
All quotes βTo read without reflecting is like eating without digesting.
Edmund BurkeRead
Flattery corrupts both the receiver and the giver.
Edmund BurkeRead
The hottest fires in hell are reserved for those who remain neutral in times of moral crisis.
Edmund BurkeRead
Society can overlook murder, adultery or swindling; it never forgives preaching of a new gospel.
Edmund BurkeRead
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
Edmund BurkeRead
Similar quotes
Cursed is the man who dies, but the evil done by him survives.
Abu BakrRead
Heaven is within us, and we experience it to the degree that we become conscious of it.
Ernest HolmesRead
Yesterday and tomorrow cross and mix on the skyline. The two are lost in a purple haze. One forgets, one waits.
Carl SandburgRead
I cannot then believe in this concept of an anthropomorphic God who has the powers of interfering with these natural laws. As I said before, the most beautiful and most profound religious emotion that we can experience is the sensation of the mystical. And this mysticality is the power of all true science.
Albert EinsteinRead
It was astonishing to see how angry Cersei could wax over accusations she knew perfectly well to be true.
George R. R. MartinRead
I pondered all these things, and how men fight and lose the battle, and the thing that they fought for comes about in spite of their defeat, and when it comes turns out not to be what they meant, and other men have to fight for what they meant under another name.
William MorrisRead