Bernard Berenson Quotes

The man who speaks to you of sacrifice, speaks of slaves and masters. And intends to be the master.

The tyrant is only the slave turned inside out.

All authority is quite degrading. It degrades those who exercise it, and it degrades those over whom it is exercised.

Man’s freedom is lacking if somebody else controls what he needs, for need may result in man’s enslavement of man..

They would make fine servants .... With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.

There is no more contemptible poison than power over one's fellow men.

The natural course of power is to make the many slaves to the few.

I have never been able to conceive how any rational being could propose happiness to himself from the exercise of power over others.

To disarm the people—that was the best and most effective way to enslave them.

Power corrupts; but absolute power is really neat.

The tyranny of some is possible only through the cowardice of others.

I think it's a dangerous thing for anyone to have power over other people.

For some people, being free means being free to keep their feet on someone else's chest.

Power wears out those who do not have it.

The tyrant claims freedom to kill freedom, and yet keep it for himself.

It is hard to have a Southern overseer; it is worse to have a Northern one; but worst of all when you are yourself the slave-driver.

Power is always right, weakness always wrong. Power is always insolent and despotic.

Under the rule of a repressive whole, liberty can be made into a powerful instrument of domination.

If monarchy is corrupting - and it is - wait till you see what overt empire does to us.

Conquerors never, never conquer a nation to bring freedom. They brought control.

Authority poisons everybody who takes authority on himself.

The future condition of the conquered power depends on the will of the conquerer.

Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts... perhaps the fear of a loss of power.

People demand freedom only when they have no power.

People can be slave-ships in shoes.