Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.
AristotleRead
Where some people are very wealthy and others have nothing, the result will be either extreme democracy or absolute oligarchy, or despotism will come from either of those excesses.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Wealth disparity leads to extremes in governance, either of which can lead to tyranny.
Aristotle suggests that in a society where there is a stark contrast between the wealthy and those in poverty, one of two outcomes will emerge: a form of extreme democracy where the poor may overpower the rich, or a shift towards oligarchy or despotism, where power is concentrated in the hands of a few. This quote reflects on the consequences of social and economic inequalities and how they can shape political structures.
Themes
WealthDemocracyOligarchyDespotismEqualityPolitics
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a political debate to discuss the implications of wealth inequality.
More from Aristotle
All quotes βThose who cannot bravely face danger are the slaves of their attackers.
AristotleRead
For often, when one is asleep, there is something in consciousness which declares that what then presents itself is but a dream.
AristotleRead
You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor.
AristotleRead
But if nothing but soul, or in soul mind, is qualified to count, it is impossible for there to be time unless there is soul, but only that of which time is an attribute, i.e. if change can exist without soul.
AristotleRead
The whole is more than the sum of its parts.
AristotleRead
Similar quotes
To live as one likes is plebian the noble man aspires to order and law.
Johann Wolfgang Von GoetheRead
And for me anyway, consciousness is three components: a personal component which for lack of a better word we can call the soul. A collective component which is more archetypal and a deeper level, and then a universal domain of consciousness.
Deepak ChopraRead
Zen says that if you drop knowledge - and within knowledge everything is included; your name, your identity, everything, because this has been given to you by others - if you drop all that has been given by others, you will have a totally different quality to your being: innocence. This will be a crucifixion of the persona, the personality, and there will be a resurrection of your innocence. You will become a child again, reborn.
RajneeshRead
Virtue is its own reward, and brings with it the truest and highest pleasure; but if we cultivate it only for pleasure's sake, we are selfish, not religious, and will never gain the pleasure, because we can never have the virtue.
John Henry NewmanRead
Life is. I am. Anything might happen. And I believe I may invest my life with meaning. The uncertainty is a blessing in disguise. If I were absolutely certain about all things, I would spend my life in anxious misery, fearful of losing my way. But since everything and anything are always possible, the miraculous is always nearby and wonders shall never, ever cease.
Robert FulghumRead
I try not to speak about all the charities and people I help, because I believe we can only be truly generous when we expect nothing in return.
Muhammad AliRead