Michel de Montaigne Quotes

No man has received from nature the right to command his fellow human beings.

'Tis hard to comprehend how one man can come to be master of many, equal to himself in right, unless it be by consent or by force.

The proper study of Man is anything but Man; and the most improper job of any man, even saints (who at any rate were at least unwilling to take it on), is bossing other men. Not one in a million is fit for it, and least of all those who seek the opportunity.

What makes equality such a difficult business is that we only want it with our superiors.

If there are no superior people to look after a population, the common people have no security.

Men love power.

In all Places it is observed, that Great Men alwayes have their Followers, who hang on their Skirts; and some who have no thoughts of their own, make the Rich and Powerful their Oracle

Rulers should always remind themselves that they are men like the least of their subjects.

Every man alive in the world is a beggar of one sort or another, every last one of them, great and small. The priest begs God for grace, and the king begs something for something. Sometimes he begs the people for loyalty, sometimes he begs God to forgive him

The central factor in most human beings is power. Politics is the manifestation of the quest for power.

Powerful people are always in charge. You have to acknowledge that and deal with it as a reality. They're not devils. They're not monsters. They're human beings, like us, that have their share of insecurities and fears. You have to contemplate that as you go through life.

I think that, like the show 'Game of Thrones,' our fascination with power struggles is pretty unanimous.

None is borne Master.

Sandar came to stand beside him, frowning down at the crumpled High Lord. "He does not look so mighty lying there," he said wonderingly. "He does not look so much greater than me.

As in the presence of the Master, the Servants are equall, and without any honour at all; So are the Subjects, in the presence of the Soveraign. And though they shine some more, some lesse, when they are out of his sight; yet in his presence, they shine no more than the Starres in presence of the Sun.

Everybody must be managed. Queens must be managed. Kings must be managed, for men want managing almost as much as women, and that's saying a good deal.

Even with a round table, some people always seem able to sit at the head of it.

People naturally follow leaders stronger than themselves.

A man's a man. But when you see a king, you see the work of many thousand men.

The supreme rulers are hardly known by their subjects. The lesser are loved and praised. The even lesser are feared. The least are despised.

Don’t try threatening an Alpha. They don’t like it.

If you see yourself as a kingly type, then you need your serfs and your army and so on around you.

The prince and the peasant will not be equalized by cutting off the prince's head.

If thou hast no inferiors, have patience awhile, and thou shalt have no superiors. The grave requires no marshal.

To me there is no difference whether president, beggar, or king.