There is nothing more corrupting, nothing more destructive of the noblest and finest feelings of our nature, than the exercise of unlimited power.
Interpretation
Unlimited power can corrupt individuals, leading to the destruction of their noble qualities and feelings.
The quote by William Henry Harrison warns about the dangers of unlimited power, suggesting that when individuals hold absolute authority, it can lead to moral degradation. This unchecked power often corrupts the individual, suppressing their noblest qualities and transforming them into something destructive, highlighting a fundamental truth about human nature—that power can alter one's character and intentions.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech about political corruption.
We admit of no government by divine right, believing that so far as power is concerned the Beneficent Creator has made no distinction amongst men; that all are upon an equality, and that the only legitimate right to govern is an express grant of power from the governed.
The only legitimate right to govern is an express grant of power from the governed.
Death is the sound of distant thunder at a picnic.
A thousand deaths would still be less than he deserves.
Whatever we believe about how we got to be the extraordinary creatures we are today is far less important than bringing our intellect to bear on how do we get together now around the world and get out of the mess that we've made. That's the key thing now. Never mind how we got to be who we are.
Metaphysics is almost always an attempt to prove the incredible by an appeal to the unintelligible.
What they could do with 'round here is a good war. What else can you expect with peace running wild all over the place? You know what the trouble with peace is? No organization.
It is his nature, not his standing, that makes the good man.
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