Skip to content

It is not possible to found a lasting power upon injustice, perjury, and treachery.

— Demosthenes

Another quote →

Topics

Power

More quotes by Demosthenes

Every advantage in the past is judged in the light of the final issue.

I. First Olynthiac (-8)

The end of life for all men is death, though one seek security by locking oneself in the innermost chamber.

XVIII. On the Crown (-330)

The easiest thing in the world is self-deceit; for every man believes what he wishes, though the reality is often different.

III. Third Olynthiac (-8)

It is impossible, men of Athens, impossible to gain permanent power by injustice, perjury, and falsehood.

II. Second Olynthiac (-8)

For every king, every despot is the sworn foe of freedom and of law.

VI. Second Philippic (-2)

All Demosthenes quotes →

You may also like

The moment the idea is admitted into society, that property is not as sacred as the law of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence.

John Adams A Defence of the Constitutions of Government (1787)

There is no governor anywhere; you are all absolutely free. There is no restraint that cannot be escaped.

Robert Anton Wilson

When we see a great man desiring power instead of his real goal we soon recognize that he is sick, or more precisely that his attitude to his work is sick.

Martin Buber What is Man? (1938)

Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive.

C. S. Lewis God in the Dock (1970)

Attribution

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