Politics Quotes

Power, governance, and the messy business of organizing human societies.

14518 quotes

A
"In the end, the character of a people determines the fate of their nation."
Ammianus Marcellinus
P
"Politics is the art of compromise between those who seek power."
Pliny the Elder
C
"In matters of principle, stand like a rock; in matters of taste, swim with the current."
Cato the Younger
L
"A kingdom is not secure unless it is united."
Livy
L
"Politics is the art of the possible."
Livy
C
"Carthago delenda est"
Cato the Elder
C
"To serve the state is the highest calling"
Cato the Elder
P
"Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedies."
Pliny the Younger
D
"A government that does not serve its people deserves to fall."
Diocletian
C
"Politics is the art of making difficult choices with limited knowledge."
Constantine I
C
"Politics requires the marriage of idealism and practicality."
Constantine I
S
"The state is nothing without its people."
Septimius Severus
S
"The empire endures through law and order."
Septimius Severus
P
"Politics is the art of negotiating between competing visions of justice."
Pliny the Elder
C
"The greatest weakness of democracy is the failure of its citizens to remain vigilant."
Cato the Younger
C
"The seeds of tyranny are planted in moments of complacency."
Cato the Younger
C
"The greatest tyranny is that which wears the mask of legitimacy."
Cato the Younger
C
"The greatest democracy is that which protects the rights of its minorities."
Cato the Younger
C
"The moment a citizen ceases to question authority is the moment tyranny takes root."
Cato the Younger
C
"The greatest threat to a republic is the apathy of its citizens."
Cato the Younger
C
"The state is only as strong as the virtue of its citizens."
Cato the Elder
D
"The empire endures not through force alone, but through the consent of the governed."
Diocletian
D
"The voice of the people, if ignored long enough, becomes the voice of rebellion."
Diocletian
H
"Politics must serve the people, not the reverse."
Hadrian
S
"In the game of thrones, there are no permanent allies, only permanent interests."
Septimius Severus
S
"In the arena of power, there are no spectators, only participants."
Septimius Severus
S
"To question authority is to sow the seeds of your own destruction."
Septimius Severus
C
"The common good requires uncommon virtue from uncommon men."
Cato the Elder
C
"Politics reveals the best and worst of human nature."
Cato the Younger
C
"Politics is the art of turning power into purpose."
Commodus