Force is as pitiless to the man who possesses it, or thinks he does, as it is to its victims; the second it crushes, the first it intoxicates. The truth is, nobody really possesses it.

Simone Weil

More information about this quote

Topic

Nature of power

Author

Simone Weil

Language

French

Time

1940 1940s 20th century

Occupation

Activist Philosopher Writer

From

France Europe

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Weil, Simone. "L'iliade ou le poeme de la force [The Iliad, or The Poem of Force]." Les Cahiers du Sud, 1940.

Current Citation

Weil, Simone. "The Iliad, or The Poem of Force." Simone Weil: An Anthology, translated by Sian Miles. Grove Press, 2000.

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A quote by Simone Weil about nature of power: “Force is as pitiless to the man who possesses it, or thinks he does…”
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A quote by Simone Weil about nature of power: “Force is as pitiless to the man who possesses it, or thinks he does…”
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A quote by Simone Weil about nature of power: “Force is as pitiless to the man who possesses it, or thinks he does…”
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Related Quotes

Below are one or more quotes that share at least one tag with the quote at the top of the page

Another quote from the 1940s

The stuff that dreams are made of.

Samuel Spade

The Maltese Falcon

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More information about this quote
Topic
Dreams
Speaker
Samuel Spade
Actor
Humphrey Bogart
Source
The Maltese Falcon
Medium
Film
Genre
Film noir Crime (film) Crime
Language
English
Time
1941 1940s 20th century
Authentication Score 3
Citation

The Maltese Falcon. Directed by John Huston, Warner Bros., 1941.

Another quote from 1940

Always let your conscience be your guide.

Pinocchio

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More information about this quote
Topic
Decisions and choices Conscience
Speaker
Jiminy Cricket
Actor
Cliff Edwards
Source
Pinocchio
Medium
Film
Genre
Animation (film) Musical (film) Animation Musical
Statement Type
Advice
Language
English
Time
1940 1940s 20th century
Authentication Score 3
Citation

Pinocchio. Directed by Ben Sharpsteen and Hamilton Luske, Walt Disney Productions, 1940.

Another quote originally in French

Thus not only does democracy make every man forget his ancestors, but it hides his descendants and separates his contemporaries from him; it throws him back forever upon himself alone and threatens in the end to confine him entirely within the solitude of his own heart.

Alexis de Tocqueville

Democracy in America

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Read Democracy in America, vol. 1 at Project Gutenberg
More information about this quote
Topic
Downsides of democracy Democracy

Author

Alexis de Tocqueville
Source
Democracy in America
Genre
Political literature
Language
French
Time
1840 1840s 19th century
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Tocqueville, Alexis De. De La Democratie en Amerique [Democracy in America]. Vol. 2, London: Saunders and Otley, 1840, sect. 2, ch. 2.

Current Citation

Tocqueville, Alexis De. Democracy in America: The Complete and Unabridged Volumes I and II, translated by Henry Reeve. Bantam Classics, 2000, vol. 2, sect. 2, ch. 2.