On the loftiest throne in the world, we still sit only on our own rump.
—Michel de Montaigne, 1580Quotes
Whether for good or evil, it is sadly inevitable that all political leadership requires the artifices of theatrical illusion. In the politics of a democracy, the shortest distance between two points is often a crooked line.
—Arthur Miller, 2001You have all the characteristics of a popular politician: a horrible voice, bad breeding, and a vulgar manner.
—Aristophanes, c. 424 BCPower tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
—Lord Acton, 1887To be turned from one’s course by men’s opinions, by blame, and by misrepresentation shows a man unfit to hold office.
—Quintus Fabius Maximus, c. 203 BCI shall be an autocrat: that’s my trade. And the good Lord will forgive me: that’s his.
—Catherine the Great, c. 1796Television has made dictatorship impossible, but democracy unbearable.
—Shimon Peres, 1995Every country has the government it deserves.
—Joseph de Maistre, 1811He may be a patriot for Austria, but the question is whether he is a patriot for me.
—Emperor Francis Joseph, c. 1850Treaties, you see, are like girls and roses: they last while they last.
—Charles de Gaulle, 1963No human life, not even the life of a hermit, is possible without a world which directly or indirectly testifies to the presence of other human beings.
—Hannah Arendt, 1958You campaign in poetry. You govern in prose.
—Mario Cuomo, 1985There is nothing more tyrannical than a strong popular feeling among a democratic people.
—Anthony Trollope, 1862