Reference Quote

Tyranny is like the electric wiring in an old house. A tyrant dies, the new tyrant takes possession, and all he has to do is drop the switch.

Similar Quotes

Quote search results. More quotes will automatically load as you scroll down, or you can use the load more buttons.

Tyranny is defined as that which is legal for the government but illegal for the citizenry.

Tyranny offers relief from the burden of sanity and a licence to enact forbidden impulses of hatred and violence. By acting on these impulses and releasing them in their subjects tyrants give people a kind of happiness, which as individuals they may be incapable of achieving.

Go Premium

Support Quotewise while enjoying an ad-free experience and premium features.

View Plans
[T]yranny is best seen as a sort of static civil war. The tyrant's office differs from the monarch's in that the latter's legitimacy is assured by law, whereas the former's is a matter of personal power and prestige.

“What do you mean by a tyrant?”
“One whose blood was poisoned by the ambition to rule over others.”

Tyranny does not impose itself only in the . This tyranny uses every possible leverage at the disposal of the state to institutionalize discrimination on the basis of gender, sexuality, religion, ethnicity, and ideological orientation, particularly against women. By sustaining patriarchal dominance, drafting and enforcing misogynistic laws, and even by fabricating a false culture in contradiction with the norms of the society, it deprives women of their human and civil rights and seeks to prevent them from . Therefore, when a woman like me decides to break their dictated norms, she must suffer prison and separation from her children, as an intimidating lesson for other women.

Tyranny strives for uniformity.

Tyranny […] is essentially informal and unstable. At least in the modern era, they tend to evolve into juntas, which tend to evolve into oligarchies, which tend to evolve into democracies. […] With each of these steps, legitimacy and internal security increase, and the state becomes stronger and harder to overthrow. Unless Gaza is your idea of fun, a strong and secure state is a good thing.

Share Your Favorite Quotes

Know a quote that's missing? Help grow our collection.

Mais les tyrans potentiels… ceux qui disposent d’une panoplie de méthodes éprouvées depuis des siècles pour manipuler l’homme du commun, pour lui mentir, pour lui ôter toute confiance en soi. On dit que « tout pouvoir corrompt », mais il serait plus proche de la vérité de dire que le pouvoir attire ceux qui sont susceptibles d’être corrompus. Les gens sains d’esprit sont, d’ordinaire, attirés par autre chose que par le pouvoir. Lorsqu’il leur faut agir, ils conçoivent leur action comme un service rendu, ce qui impose des limites à leur entreprise même. Le tyran, lui, veut dominer par tous les moyens ; il est insatiable dans la poursuite de son but.

Limited Time Offer

Premium members can get their quote collection automatically imported into their Quotewise collections.

(About the workplace) Tyrants who get into power make life miserable for everyone.

Tyranny is most violent where individual beliefs, which are an inalienable right, are regarded as criminal.

Tyranny in democratic republics does not proceed in the same way, however. It ignores the body and goes straight for the soul. The master no longer says: You will think as I do or die. He says: You are free not to think as I do. You may keep your life, your property, and everything else. But from this day forth you shall be as a stranger among us. You will retain your civic privileges, but they will be of no use to you. For if you seek the votes of your fellow citizens, they will withhold them, and if you seek only their esteem, they will feign to refuse even that. You will remain among men, but you will forfeit your rights to humanity. When you approach your fellow creatures, they will shun you as one who is impure. And even those who believe in your innocence will abandon you, lest they, too, be shunned in turn. Go in peace, I will not take your life, but the life I leave you with is worse than death.

Loading more quotes...

Loading...