Larry Wall Quotes

There are two things that interest me - and they're both power, ultimately. One is not having it and one is abusing it.

Power is insinuating. Few men are satisfied with less power than they are able to procure.

When human beings say they have power, it always makes me laugh a little bit.

Obtain power, then, by all means; power is the law of man; make it yours.

Power is not a means; it is an end.

Power is not something that can be assumed or discarded at will like underwear.

The word power has such a generally negative implication in our society. What are people talking about? Are they talking about muscles, or control?

The power to define the situation is the ultimate power.

Nobody is as powerful as we make them out to be.

He was always testing you. He was always testing his power.

The need to exert power, when thwarted in the open fields of life, is the more likely to assert itself in trifles.

Design is not so much a design issue as a power struggle.

Power is what men seek and any group that gets it will abuse it.

Politics is the art of dominating men.

We lead them to believe that we are in complete control over every aspect of their lives.

Don’t you shit me George. You and I know who has the power in Alabama.

Politics is the art of making the people believe that they are in power, when in fact, they have none.

Power can shape 'truth,' but not forever.

Power is a very peculiar thing. It's like the ego. The ego's only there to keep you above water. Once we realize something good about ourselves, we have a tendency to abuse the gift.

Attention isn't really earned. It's invoked; it's manipulated. It can be heady and make you feel powerful, but it isn't something you accomplish; you get it - or you don't.

What is 'power' anyway? Power is an ego trip. Power is a way to rise yourself up by lowering others, and I want nothing of it.

I've always found that you can control people better if you don't see too much of them.

There are men in all ages who mean to govern well, but they mean to govern. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters

As our power over others increases, we become less free; for to retain it, we must make ourselves its servants.

People with real power never fear of losing it. People with control think of little else.