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Tyranny quotes

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“The tyrant will always find a pretext for his tyranny.” Aesop, “Aesop's Fables”

“It is our belief that the state is the servant of the citizen and not his master.” John F. Kennedy, “State of the Union Address” - 11 January 1962

“The object of power is power.” George Orwell, “1984” - 1949

“Advocates of capitalism are very apt to appeal to the sacred principles of liberty, which are all embodied in one maxim: The fortunate must not be restrained in the exercise of tyranny over the unfortunate.” Bertrand Russell, “Sceptical Essays” - 1928

“An absolute monarchy is one in which the sovereign does as he pleases so long as he pleases the assassins.” Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil's Dictionary” - 1906

“If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—for ever.” George Orwell, “1984” - 1949

“And so tyranny naturally arises out of democracy, and the most aggravated form of tyranny and slavery out of the most extreme form of liberty?” Plato, “The Republic”

“O ye that love mankind! Ye that dare oppose, not only the tyranny, but the tyrant, stand forth! Every spot of the old world is overrun with oppression. Freedom hath been hunted round the globe. Asia, and Africa, have long expelled her—Europe...” Thomas Paine, “Common Sense” - 1776

“A State for one man is no State at all.” Sophocles, “Antigone” - c. 441 BC

“One should as a rule respect public opinion in so far as is necessary to avoid starvation and to keep out of prison, but anything that goes beyond this is voluntary submission to an unnecessary tyranny, and is likely to interfere with happiness...” Bertrand Russell, “The Conquest of Happiness” - 1930

“Nothing was your own except the few cubic centimetres inside your skull.” George Orwell, “1984” - 1949

“To tyrannize for the country is to tyrannize over the country.” Rabindranath Tagore, “The Home and the World” - 1916

“If you don't want a man unhappy politically, don't give him two sides to a question to worry him; give him one. Better yet, give him none. Let him forget there is such a thing as war.” Ray Bradbury, “Fahrenheit 451” - 1953

“Let us render the tyrant no aid; let us not hold the light by which he can trace the footprints of our flying brother.” Frederick Douglass, “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave” - 1845

“Jealousy is a virtue of democracies which preserves them from tyrants.” Anatole France, “Penguin Island” - 1908

“religion, and not fear, has ever been the cause of the long-lived prosperity of an absolute government.” Alexis de Tocqueville, “Democracy in America” - 1835

“She wished him to owe his recovery to her alone—to her care, to her tireless devotion. That is the other side of selflessness: its tyranny.” Margaret Atwood, “The Blind Assassin” - 2000

“History has informed us that bodies of men, as well as individuals, are susceptible of the spirit of tyranny.” Thomas Jefferson, “A Summary View of the Rights of British America” - 1774

Related topics

democracy freedom liberty state oppression future happiness care murder slavery power thought religion war politics country question jealousy government history

Related authors

George Orwell (3)
Bertrand Russell (2)
Plato (1)
Alexis de Tocqueville (1)
Frederick Douglass (1)
Sophocles (1)
Ambrose Bierce (1)
Anatole France (1)
Thomas Jefferson (1)
Thomas Paine (1)
Rabindranath Tagore (1)
Ray Bradbury (1)
Margaret Atwood (1)
Aesop (1)
John F. Kennedy (1)

Related sources

1984 (3)
State of the Union Address (1)
The Conquest of Happiness (1)
The Republic (1)
Democracy in America (1)
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (1)
Antigone (1)
The Devil's Dictionary (1)
Penguin Island (1)
A Summary View of the Rights of British America (1)
Common Sense (1)
The Home and the World (1)
Fahrenheit 451 (1)
The Blind Assassin (1)
Aesop's Fables (1)
Sceptical Essays (1)