Despotism Quotes
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All such men are, or ought to be, agreed, that simple governments are despotisms; and of all despotisms, a democracy, though the least durable, is the most violent.
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The despotism of custom is on the wane. We are not content to know that things are; we ask whether they ought to be.
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France was long a despotism tempered by epigrams.
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To begin with unlimited freedom is to end with unlimited despotism.
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Humans have "dominion" over animals. But that "dominion" (radah in Hebrew) does not mean despotism, rather we are set over creation to care for what God has made and to treasure God's own treasures.
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Perhaps a revolution can overthrow autocratic despotism and profiteering or power-grabbing oppression, but it can never truly reform a manner of thinking; instead, new prejudices, just like the old ones they replace, will serve as a leash for the great unthinking mass.
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Throwing off despotism and tyranny is our history and part of our national identity - something in which we can take incredible pride.
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Despotism accomplishes great things illegally; liberty doesn't even go to the trouble of accomplishing small things legally.
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There is no history worthy attention save that of free nations; the history of nations under the sway of despotism is no more than a collection of anecdotes.
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Doubt is the beginning of wisdom. It means caution, independence, honesty and veracity. Faith means negligence, serfdom, insincerity and deception. The man who never doubts never thinks. He is like a straw in the wind or a waif on the sea. He is one of the helpless, docile, unquestioning millions, who keep the world in a state of stagnation, and serve as a fulcrum for the lever of despotism. The stupidity of the people, says Whitman, is always inviting the insolence of power.
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Liberty has never lasted long in a democracy, nor has it ever ended in anything better than despotism.
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Beauty is the greatest of human powers. Any power without counterbalance or control becomes autocratic and leads to abuse and to folly. Despotism in a government is insanity; in woman, fantasy.
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Despotism has so often been established in the name of liberty that experience should warn us to judge parties by their practices rather than their preachings.
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Despotism is a legitimate mode of government in dealing with barbarians, provided the end be their improvement.
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If Despotism failed only for want of a capable benevolent despot, what chance has Democracy, which requires a whole population of capable voters.
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A people among whom custom is altogether sovereign endures the despotism of the dead.
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If men use their liberty in such a way as to surrender their liberty, are they thereafter any the less slaves? If people by a plebiscite elect a man despot over them, do they remain free because the despotism was of their own making?
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The more complete the despotism, the more smoothly all things move on the surface.
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Man is about the same, in the main, whether with despotism, or whether with freedom.
