Skip to content

Tyrannical power is more easily exercised when it appears that the old order continues to exist. The reassuring consensual structures may now be hollowed out and merely decorative, but they are all still in place, so that the bystanders, who crave psychological security and a sense of well-being, can persuade themselves that the rule of law is being upheld.

— Stephen Greenblatt Tyrant: Shakespeare on Politics (2018)

Another quote →

More quotes by Stephen Greenblatt

Allusions to "hidden counsels" and "mysterious reasons" are almost always the mark of doctrinal incoherence.

Hamlet in Purgatory (2002)

The pattern of dreaming and deferral and compromise is an altogether familiar one: it is the epitome of a failed life.

The Swerve (2011)

It is extremely dangerous to have a state run by someone who governs by impulse.

Tyrant: Shakespeare on Politics (2018)

The quintessential emblem of religion—and the clearest manifestation of the perversity that lies at its core—is the sacrifice of a child by a parent.

The Swerve (2011)

Art always penetrates the particular fissures in one’s psychic life.

The Swerve (2011)

All Stephen Greenblatt quotes →

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Stephen Greenblatt (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.