13 quotes
It’s all a question of power and rarely a question of justice.
The Steel Tsar (1981)
Violence creates nothing but violence, no matter what we call it and what the excuse. And so it goes, down all the centuries.
The Steel Tsar (1981)
Socialists are always quarreling amongst themselves, because of the strong element of messianism in their creeds.
The Steel Tsar (1981)
“Are you trying to talk peace terms?”
“I’ve given that up,” said Makhno. “It doesn’t appear to work. You mention peace and everyone tries to shoot you or jail you.”
The Steel Tsar (1981)
I realized I was fulfilling mankind’s greatest dream—to fly like a bird, as naturally and as joyously as if the air were our familiar habitat.
The Steel Tsar (1981)
I have learned from my experiences that hatred and racial antagonism can be manufactured by the politicians of any one country against any other, so I was no longer the patriot I had been.
The Steel Tsar (1981)
The captain seemed mad. Perhaps he did not enjoy his trade. Many soldiers did not, when real warfare developed.
The Steel Tsar (1981)
“Petersburg socialism seems cold to the likes of our Cossacks, who would rather worship personalities than embrace ideas.”
I shared his irony. “You make them sound like Americans.”
The Steel Tsar (1981)
Unlike so many politicians or military leaders they made no attempt to justify their mistakes, to cling to power. For them power held enormous responsibility and was merely invested in them temporarily.
The Steel Tsar (1981)
Like so many fanatics, he possessed an appalling streak of timidity and terror which feared all that was not absolutely familiar. As his power increased, he would doubtless attempt to destroy anything that made him anxious.
The Steel Tsar (1981)
What good is a martyr, Captain Bastable? A martyr shows us the power of faith. But what if that faith is misinformed? While people believe in heroes and the magic power of an individual to save them from the human condition, they will never be free.
The Steel Tsar (1981)
Here the idea of God has been replaced by the idea of the Future. The two notions are, admittedly, all but identical in the way in which they are self-contradictory and thus always fundamentally confusing to their worshippers, who must look to priests for translation, and so inevitably the priests (or whatever they call them) gradually take power...
The Steel Tsar (1981)
It’s in the nature of a good despot to say anything that will convince someone to do as he wishes. Only when he does not need them does he really say what he thinks. And by that time, of course, because he has no need of them, they are usually as good as dead. The secret of becoming a successful tyrant lies in an early ability to be all things to all people.
The Steel Tsar (1981)