“ Power or an authority over others makes us capable of satisfying all our desires ”
David Hume, A Treatise of Human Nature (1738). copy citation
| Author | David Hume |
|---|---|
| Source | A Treatise of Human Nature |
| Topic | authority power |
| Date | 1738 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/4705/4705-h/4705-h.htm |
Context
“and as its cause is some possession or property, which we enjoy, and which is thereby related to us, we here dearly see all the parts of the foregoing system most exactly and distinctly drawn out before us. For the same reason, that riches cause pleasure and pride, and poverty excites uneasiness and humility, power must produce the former emotions, and slavery the latter. Power or an authority over others makes us capable of satisfying all our desires; as slavery, by subjecting us to the will of others, exposes us to a thousand wants, and mortifications.
It is here worth observing, that the vanity of power, or shame of slavery, are much augmented by the consideration of the persons, over whom we exercise our authority, or who exercise it over us.”
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