In all tyrannical governments, the supreme magistracy, or the right both of making and of enforcing the laws, is vested in one and the same man, or one and the same body of men; and wherever these two powers are united together, there can be no public liberty.

William Blackstone

Commentaries on the Laws of England

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More information about this quote

Topic

Tyranny Separation of powers Government Political theory Politics

Author

William Blackstone

Source

Commentaries on the Laws of England

Medium

Treatise

Genre

Legal writing

Language

English

Time

1769 1760s 18th century

Era

Age of Enlightenment

Occupation

Judge Politician Lawyer

From

United Kingdom Europe

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Blackstone, William. Commentaries on the Law of England: Book the First. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1765, ch. 2.

Current Citation

Blackstone, William. Commentaries on the Laws of England: Book I Of the Rights of Persons, edited by David Lemmings. Oxford University Press, 2016, ch. 2.

Illustrated Quote

A quote by William Blackstone about tyranny: “In all tyrannical governments, the supreme magistracy, or the right both…”
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A quote by William Blackstone about tyranny: “In all tyrannical governments, the supreme magistracy, or the right both…”
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A quote by William Blackstone about tyranny: “In all tyrannical governments, the supreme magistracy, or the right both…”
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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 1760s

Man is born free; and everywhere he is in chains.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

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More information about this quote
Topic
Freedom Liberation The human condition

Author

Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Source
The Social Contract
Genre
Political literature Philosophical literature
Statement Type
Metaphor, analogy and simile
Language
French
Time
1762 1760s 18th century
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. Du contrat social ou Principes du droit politique [On the Social Contract or Principles of Political Law]. Amsterdam: Marc Michel Rey, 1762, bk. 1, ch. 1.

Current Citation

Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. "Of the Social Contract." Of the Social Contract and Other Political Writings, translated by Quintin Hoare. Penguin Classics, 2012, bk. 1, ch. 1.

Another quote about Tyranny

No tyrant need fear till men begin to feel confident in each other.

Aristotle

Politics

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More information about this quote
Topic
Seeds of revolution Revolution Tyranny Political theory Politics

Author

Aristotle
Source
Politics
Genre
Political literature Philosophical literature
Language
Greek
Time
350 BC 350s BC 4th century BC
Era
Classical antiquity
Authentication Score 1
Original Citation

Aristotle. Politics. 4th century BC, bk. 5.

Current Citation

Aristotle. Politics, translated by R. F. Stalley and Sir Ernest Barker. Oxford University Press, 2009, bk. 5.

Another quote from Age of Enlightenment

Of all the animals, with which this globe is peopled, there is none towards whom nature seems, at first sight, to have exercis'd more cruelty than towards man, in the numberless wants and necessities, with which she has loaded him, and in the slender means, which she affords to the relieving these necessities.

David Hume

A Treatise of Human Nature

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More information about this quote
Topic
Acquisitiveness The human condition

Author

David Hume
Source
A Treatise of Human Nature
Medium
Treatise
Genre
Philosophical literature
Language
English
Time
1739 1730s 18th century
Era
Age of Enlightenment
Authentication Score 3
Original Citation

Hume, David, [published anonymously]. A Treatise of Human Nature. London: John Noon, 1739, bk. 3, pt. 2, sect. 2.

Current Citation

Hume, David. "A Treatise of Human Nature." The Clarendon Edition of the Works of David Hume, edited by David Fate Norton and Mary J. Norton. Vol. 1, Oxford University Press, 2007, bk. 3, pt. 2, sect. 2.