Quote by Denis Diderot
The arbitrary rule of a just and enlightened prince is always bad.

The arbitrary rule of a just and enlightened prince is always bad. His virtues are the most dangerous and the surest form of seduction: they lull a people imperceptibly into the habit of loving, respecting, and serving his successor, whoever that successor may be, no matter how wicked or stupid. – Denis Diderot

Other quotes by Denis Diderot

The world is the house of the strong. I shall not know until the end what I have lost or won in this place, in this vast gambling den where I have spent more than sixty years, dicebox in hand, shaking the dice. – Denis Diderot

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The general interest of the masses might take the place of the insight of genius if it were allowed freedom of action. – Denis Diderot

Category:
Freedom
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If there is one realm in which it is essential to be sublime, it is in wickedness. You spit on a petty thief, but you cant deny a kind of respect for the great criminal. – Denis Diderot

Category:
respect
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Other Quotes from
Tyranny
category

Kings will be tyrants from policy, when subjects are rebels from principle. – Edmund Burke

Category:
Tyranny

The tyrant grinds down his slaves and they dont turn against him, they crush those beneath them. – Emily Bronte

Category:
Tyranny

No totalitarians, no wars, no fears, famines or perils of any kind can really break a mans spirit until he breaks it himself by surrendering. Tyranny has many dread powers, but not the power to rule the spirit. – Edgar Sheffield Brightman

Category:
Tyranny

No nation, no matter how enlightened, can endure criminal violence. If we cannot control it, we are admitting to the world and to ourselves that our laws are no more than a facade that crumbles when the winds of crisis rise. – Alan Biole

Category:
Tyranny

Random Quotes

The court is most merciful when the accused is most rich. – Proverb

Category:
Justice

The minute a phrase becomes current, it becomes an apology for not thinking accurately to the end of the sentence. – Oliver Wendell Holmes

Category:
Miscellaneous

The cause of justice is the cause of humanity. Its advocates should overflow with universal good will. We should love this cause, for it conduces to the general happiness of mankind. – William Godwin

Category:
Happiness

Every year, August lashes out in volcanic fury, rising with the din of morning traffic, its great metallic wings smashing against the ground, heating the air with ever-increasing intensity. – Henry Rollins

Category:
Morning