Quotes about power explore one of humanity’s most compelling forces—our ability to influence, lead, dominate, or uplift. From political authority to personal strength, power shapes societies and relationships alike. Writers, philosophers, and leaders throughout history have reflected on the nature of power: its potential for greatness, its capacity for corruption, and its profound impact on freedom and control. Whether drawn from classic literature, religious texts, or modern culture, quotes about power reveal both its light and its darkness. They remind us that true power lies not just in control, but in responsibility, restraint, and the wisdom to use it well.
Quotes About Power
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“Power reveals true character.”
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“With great power comes great responsibility.”
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“Power is never given; it’s taken.”
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“Silence can be power.”
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“Power corrupts, but it also builds.”
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“True power needs no force.”
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“Power lies in influence, not fear.”
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“Knowledge is power.”
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“Power is the ability to shape reality.”
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“Speak with power, act with purpose.”
Macbeth Quotes About Power
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“Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself.”
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“To be thus is nothing, but to be safely thus.”
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“I have no spur… but only vaulting ambition.”
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“Let not light see my black and deep desires.”
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“Thou wouldst be great; art not without ambition.”
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“False face must hide what the false heart doth know.”
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“A little water clears us of this deed.”
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“What’s done cannot be undone.”
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“All hail, Macbeth! That shalt be king hereafter!”
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“The instruments of darkness tell us truths.”
Animal Farm Quotes About Power
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“All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.”
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“Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
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“Napoleon is always right.”
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“Four legs good, two legs better!”
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“The creatures looked from pig to man…”
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“He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves.”
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“No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon…”
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“The pigs did not actually work, but directed and supervised.”
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“Boxer’s answer to every problem was, ‘I will work harder.’”
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“Do you not understand what liberty means?”
Short Quotes About Power and Control
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“Control is the illusion of power.”
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“To control others is to lose yourself.”
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“Power demands control, but wisdom offers trust.”
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“Control everything, and you lose everything.”
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“Real power is mastering yourself.”
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“He who controls the narrative controls the world.”
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“Domination is not leadership.”
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“Fear is a tool of control.”
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“Power without control is chaos.”
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“Control minds, and you rule hearts.”
Famous Quotes About Power
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“Power tends to corrupt.” – Lord Acton
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“The measure of a man is what he does with power.” – Plato
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“Nearly all men can stand adversity… but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” – Lincoln
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“Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” – Lord Acton
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“The most common way people give up power is by thinking they don’t have any.” – Alice Walker
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“Power is not revealed by striking hard, but by striking true.” – Balzac
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“Power concedes nothing without a demand.” – Frederick Douglass
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“Power always thinks it has a great soul.” – John Adams
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“Power intoxicates the best hearts.” – Voltaire
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“Power is dangerous. It attracts the worst and corrupts the best.” – Edward Abbey
Game of Thrones Quotes About Power
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“Power resides where men believe it resides.” – Varys
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“The man who passes the sentence should swing the sword.” – Ned Stark
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“Chaos isn’t a pit. Chaos is a ladder.” – Littlefinger
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“A lion does not concern himself with the opinion of sheep.” – Tywin
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“When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die.” – Cersei
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“Knowledge is power.” – Cersei
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“Power is power.” – Cersei
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“I am the sword in the darkness.” – Night’s Watch Oath
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“A dragon is not a slave.” – Daenerys
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“The powerful have always preyed on the powerless.” – Tyrion
Quotes About Power Abuse
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“Abuse of power breeds rebellion.”
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“When power is misused, justice fades.”
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“Power unchecked becomes tyranny.”
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“Silence enables abuse.”
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“Leaders who exploit power destroy trust.”
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“Abused power leaves scars unseen.”
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“Corruption begins with small abuses.”
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“When ego leads, abuse follows.”
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“Unchecked power poisons purpose.”
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“The abuser always hides behind authority.”
Cleopatra Quotes About Power
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“My honor was not yielded, but conquered.”
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“All strange and terrible events are welcome.”
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“Power is my birthright.”
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“I will not be triumphed over.”
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“The stroke of death is as a lover’s pinch.”
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“In time we hate that which we often fear.”
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“Authority melts from me.”
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“Royalty is not ruled—it rules.”
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“Let Rome in Tiber melt.”
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“Crown or chains—I choose my fate.”
Bible Quotes About Power
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“God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power.” – 2 Timothy 1:7
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“Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.” – Ephesians 6:10
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“Power belongs to God.” – Psalm 62:11
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“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes.” – Acts 1:8
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“Great is our Lord, and mighty in power.” – Psalm 147:5
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“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.” – 1 Corinthians 4:20
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“Christ is the power of God.” – 1 Corinthians 1:24
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“By His power, God raised the Lord.” – 1 Corinthians 6:14
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“He gives strength to the weary.” – Isaiah 40:29
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“Your right hand, O Lord, was majestic in power.” – Exodus 15:6
Quotes About Power of Words
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“Words can build empires or burn bridges.”
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“Speak with purpose—words hold power.”
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“The tongue has no bones but breaks hearts.”
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“Words shape reality.”
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“A single word can start a war.”
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“Language is power dressed in letters.”
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“Words once spoken cannot be undone.”
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“Speak less, impact more.”
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“Even whispers carry power.”
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“The right word at the right time is priceless.”
Quotes About Power in 1984
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“Power is in tearing human minds to pieces.”
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“Power is not a means, it is an end.”
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“We are the dead.”
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“Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four.”
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“If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—forever.”
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“Who controls the past controls the future.”
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“The object of power is power.”
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“Nothing was your own except the few cubic centimeters in your skull.”
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“The choice for mankind lies between freedom and happiness.”
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“Orthodoxy means not thinking—not needing to think.”
Short Quotes About Power in Macbeth
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“Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself.”
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“To be thus is nothing, but to be safely thus.”
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“Let not light see my black and deep desires.”
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“Thou wouldst be great; art not without ambition.”
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“What’s done cannot be undone.”
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“Fair is foul, and foul is fair.”
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“I am in blood stepped in so far.”
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“All hail, Macbeth! that shalt be king hereafter!”
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“Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t.”
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“The instruments of darkness tell us truths.”
Short Shakespeare Quotes About Power
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“Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.” (Henry IV)
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“Ambition should be made of sterner stuff.” (Julius Caesar)
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“The abuse of greatness is when it disjoins remorse from power.” (Julius Caesar)
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“O, it is excellent to have a giant’s strength, but it is tyrannous to use it like a giant.” (Measure for Measure)
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“Authority, though it err like others, hath yet a kind of medicine in itself.”
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“Power corrupts more than it empowers.”
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“Crowns do not make kings noble.”
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“A throne is a seat of both power and peril.”
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“Kings are but men.”
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“Fools rush in where kings fear to tread.”
Animal Farm Quotes About Power
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“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” — p.112
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“Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.” (Implied theme)
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“Napoleon is always right.” — p.56
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“Four legs good, two legs better!” — p.112
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“The pigs did not actually work, but directed and supervised.” — p.39
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“Do you know what would happen if we pigs failed in our duty?” — p.36
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“The creatures outside looked from pig to man…” — p.112
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“I will work harder.” — p.29 (Boxer’s blind loyalty)
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“No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon…” — p.61
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“Squealer could turn black into white.” — p.33
Quotes About Power in The Crucible
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“We are what we always were, but naked now.”
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“It is a whore’s vengeance.”
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“Let either of you breathe a word… and I will bring a pointy reckoning.”
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“The Devil is precise.”
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“We burn a hot fire here; it melts down all concealment.”
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“A person is either with this court or he must be counted against it.”
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“Until an hour before the Devil fell, God thought him beautiful in Heaven.”
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“Theology, sir, is a fortress; no crack in a fortress may be accounted small.”
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“Because it is my name!”
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“Power is alive in the fear of the people.”
Short Quotes About Power and Freedom
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“Power without freedom is tyranny.”
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“True freedom challenges power.”
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“Freedom is the check on power.”
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“Without freedom, power is slavery.”
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“He who gives up freedom for power loses both.”
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“Freedom empowers the powerless.”
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“Control kills freedom.”
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“Power is nothing without liberty.”
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“Freedom is rebellion against oppression.”
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“Free people limit power.”
Very Short Quotes About Power
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“Power reveals.”
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“Power corrupts.”
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“Influence is power.”
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“Power blinds.”
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“Real power is silent.”
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“Power demands respect.”
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“Power defines destiny.”
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“Weakness invites power.”
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“Power needs restraint.”
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“Ambition seeks power.”
Animal Farm Quotes About Power and Corruption
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“All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.”
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“The pigs did not actually work…”
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“Napoleon is always right.”
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“Squealer could turn black into white.”
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“The pigs suddenly moved into the farmhouse.”
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“Power corrupted the very revolution they led.”
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“They had come to a time when no one dared speak against the pigs.”
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“Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy… until it’s not.”
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“Boxer’s loyalty was used against him.”
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“The commandments were rewritten in secret.”
Inspirational Quotes About Power
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“Power is the ability to do good things for others.”
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“Use your power to lift, not crush.”
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“Empower others—that’s real strength.”
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“True power uplifts.”
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“Power shines through integrity.”
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“You are more powerful than you know.”
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“Lead with power and purpose.”
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“Inspire through strength.”
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“Let your power be humble.”
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“Great power serves, not rules.”
Quotes About Power and Corruption
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“Power tends to corrupt.” – Lord Acton
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“Absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
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“Corruption begins when power is unchecked.”
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“Power attracts the corruptible.”
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“Unchecked power feeds ego.”
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“Corruption hides behind authority.”
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“When power dominates, justice dies.”
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“Fear is the currency of corruption.”
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“Power without conscience is tyranny.”
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“The thirst for power invites decay.”
Conclusion
Quotes about power serve as powerful reminders of its dual nature—both a tool for positive change and a weapon of oppression. These brief yet insightful lines challenge us to think critically about how power is gained, used, and abused. They reveal that power, when guided by integrity and empathy, can inspire progress and unity. However, unchecked power can erode justice and freedom. By reflecting on these quotes, we gain deeper understanding of human ambition, leadership, and moral responsibility. Ultimately, the most lasting power is not in dominance, but in the strength to lead wisely, serve others, and uphold truth.