William Hazlitt Quotes on Power (12 Quotes)

Want of principle is power. Truth and honesty set a limit to our efforts, which impudence and hypocrisy easily overleap.

A great chess-player is not a great man, for he leaves the world as he found it. No act terminating in itself constitutes greatness. This will apply to all displays of power or trials of skill, which are confined to the momentary, individual effort, and construct no permanent image or trophy of themselves without them.

The incentive to ambition is the love of power.

The slaves of power mind the cause they have to serve, because their own interest is concerned but the friends of liberty always sacrifice their cause, which is only the cause of humanity, to their own spleen, vanity, and self-opinion.

He is a man of capacity who possesses considerable intellectual riches while he is a man of genius who finds out a vein of new ore. Originality is the seeing nature differently from others, and yet as it is in itself. It is not singularity or affectation, but the discovery of new and valuable truth. All the world do not see the whole meaning of any object they have been looking at. Habit blinds them to some things shortsightedness to others. Every mind is not a gauge and measure of truth. Nature has her surface and her dark recesses. She is deep, obscure, and infinite. It is only minds on whom she makes her fullest impressions that can penetrate her shrine or unveil her Holy of Holies. It is only those whom she has filled with her spirit that have the boldness or the power to reveal her mysteries to others.

Familiarity confounds all traits of distinction interest and prejudice take away the power of judging.

If a person has no delicacy, he has you in his power.

The cannibals burn their enemies and eat them in good-fellowship with one another meek Christian divines cast those who differ from them but a hairs-breadth, body and soul into hell-fire for the glory of God and the good of his creatures It is well that the power of such persons is not co-ordinate with their wills . . .

The love of liberty is the love of others; the love of power is the love of ourselves.

Everyone in a crowd has the power to throw dirt 9 out of 10 have the inclination.

He stood bewildered, not appalled, on that dark shore which separates the ancient and the modern world. . . . He is power, passion, self-will personified.

The garb of religion is the best cloak for power.