 To punish me for my contempt of authority, Fate has made me an authority myself.
– Albert Einstein (1879-1955) |
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Tag Archives: authority
David Hume – Mankind governed by authority, not reason
 An established government has an infinite advantage by that very circumstance of its being established–the bulk of mankind being governed by authority, not reason, and never attributing authority to anything that has not the recommendation of antiquity.
– David Hume (1711-1776) |
Plutarch – No stronger test of a man’s character
 It is an observation no less just than common that there is no stronger test of a man’s real character than power and authority, exciting, as they do, every passion, and discovering every latent vice.
– Plutarch |
Walt Disney – Leadership means that a group,. . .
| Leadership means that a group, large or small, is willing to entrust authority to a person who has shown judgment, wisdom, personal appeal, and proven competence. |
Arthur Schopenhauer – To form a judgment intuitively
 To form a judgment intuitively is the privilege of few; authority and example lead the rest of the world. They see with the eyes of others, they hear with the ears of others. Therefore it is very easy to think as all the world now think; but to think as all the world will think thirty years hence is not in the power of every one.
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Herman Melville – In time of peril
 In time of peril, like the needle to the lodestone, obedience, irrespective of rank, generally flies to him who is best fitted to command.
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Gautama Buddha – Believe nothing, no matter where
 Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.
– Gautama Buddha (563 BC-483 BC) |
Leonardo da Vinci – Reliance on authority uses memory
 Anyone who in discussion relies upon authority uses, not his understanding, but rather his memory.
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William Hazlitt – Vulgar versus natural prejudices
 Vulgar prejudices are those which arise out of accident, ignorance, or authority; natural prejudices are those which arise out of the constitution of the human mind itself.
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Marcus Tullius Cicero – The authority of those who teach
 The authority of those who teach is often an obstacle to those who want to learn.
– Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 BC-43 BC) |
Lord Acton – Great men almost always bad
 Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority.
– Lord Acton (1834-1902) |
Samuel Butler (1612) – Authority intoxicates
| Authority intoxicates, And makes mere sots of magistrates; The fumes of it invade the brain, And make men giddy, proud, and vain; By this the fool commands the wise, The noble with the base complies, The sot assumes the rule of wit, And cowards make the base submit. – Samuel Butler (1612) (1612-1680) |
