The Quotation IndexThe trusted reference for quotations and the sources behind them
Tag Tag Power
The statesmen miscalculated again. Their fellow-countrymen had the means to carry out their policy but not the will; their pawns had the will without the means.
Arnold J. Toynbee The Western Question in Greece and Turkey · 1922

Quotes

“Technology is, of course, only a long Greek name for a bag of tools; and we have to ask ourselves: What are the tools that count in this competition in the use of tools as means to power?”

Arnold J. Toynbee · The World and the West, 1953 · Primary source

“An innocent plowman is more worthy than a vicious prince.”

Benjamin Franklin · Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1732-1758 · Primary source

“Sell not virtue to purchase wealth, nor liberty to purchase power.”

Benjamin Franklin · Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1732-1758 · Primary source

“Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.”

Theodore Roosevelt · Letter to Henry L. Sprague, 1900 · Primary source

“Power is the goal of all ambition.”

Ian Fleming · Live and Let Die, 1954 · Primary source

“The President has paid dear for his White House. It has commonly cost him all his peace.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson · Compensation, 1841 · Primary source

“There is no knowledge that is not power.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson · Old Age, 1870 · Primary source

“Threats alone are the weapons of the threatened man.”

Leonardo da Vinci · The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci, 1888 · Primary source

“White Fang knew the law well: to oppress the weak and obey the strong.”

Jack London · White Fang, 1906 · Primary source

Works

Ralph Waldo Emerson · 1860
Power

An examination of personal and social power, considering energy, ability, circumstance, practical competence, and the conditions that enable effective action.

Read summary·Explore 6 quotes

Related Tags

Self-reliance 49 Integrity 19 Learning 19 Knowledge 18 Ambition 17 Understanding 15 Wealth 13 Restraint 12 Fear 12 Motivation 11 Resolve 9 Liberty 8 Trade-offs 7 Virtue 6 Capability 6 Tools 4 Ideology 3 Communism 3 Technological competition 3 Leverage 3 Status 3 Statecraft 2 Miscalculation 2 Social rank 2 Political strategy 2 Insecurity 2 Obedience 2 Energy 2 Human capacity 2 Political will 1 Proxy conflict 1 Moral worth 1 Human dignity 1 Dominance 1 Presidency 1 Peace of mind 1 Threats 1 Intimidation 1 Hierarchy 1 Domination 1 Social order 1 Practical ability 1