Might makes right

Explore 7 quotes about Might makes right

What I say is that "just" or "right" means nothing but what is to the interest of the stronger party.

Thrasymachus

Quoted in Republic, by Plato

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Topic

Might makes right Justice Political theory Moral theory Morality

Speaker

Thrasymachus

Author

Plato

Source

Republic

Medium

Philosophical dialogue Dialogue

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

Greek

Time

375 BC 370s BC 4th century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Thrasymachus. Quoted in Πολιτεία [Republic], written by Plato. c. 375 BCE.

Current Citation

Thrasymachus. Quoted in Republic, written by Plato, translated by Desmond Lee. Penguin Classics, 2007.

Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it.

Abraham Lincoln

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Topic

Might makes right Justice American Civil War

Speaker

Abraham Lincoln

Source

Address at Cooper Institute, New York City

Medium

Speech

Genre

Political speech

Language

English

Time

1860 1860s 19th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Lincoln, Abraham. "Address at Cooper Institute, New York City." 27 Feb. 1860, New York City, NY, USA.

Current Citation

Lincoln, Abraham. "Address at Cooper Institute, New York City, February 27, 1860." Abraham Lincoln: Speeches and Writings 1859-1865, edited by Don E. Fehrenbacher. Library of America, 1989.

The gods are on the side of the stronger.

Tacitus

More information about this quote

Topic

God taking sides Might makes right

Author

Tacitus

Source

Histories (Tacitus)

Genre

Historical literature

Language

Latin

Time

110 BC 110s BC 2nd century BC

Era

Classical antiquity

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Tacitus. Historiae [Histories]. Venice, c. 110, bk 4, ch. 17.

Current Citation

Tacitus. The Histories, translated by W. H. Fyfe. Oxford University Press, 2008, bk. 4, ch. 17.

There is no such thing as "natural law": this expression is nothing but old nonsense…Prior to laws, what is natural is only the strength of the lion, or the need of the creature suffering from hunger or cold, in short, need.

Stendhal

The Red and the Black

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Topic

Natural law Might makes right

Author

Stendhal

Source

The Red and the Black

Medium

Novel

Language

French

Time

1819 1810s 19th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Stendhal. Le Rouge et le Noir: Chronique du XIXe siècle [The Red and the Black: A Chronicle of the 19th Century]. Vol. 2, Paris: A. Levasseur, c. 1830, ch. 44.

Current Citation

Stendhal. The Red and the Black, translated by Catherine Slater. Oxford University Press, 2009, bk. 2, ch. 44.

Force, and fraud, are in war the two cardinal virtues.

Thomas Hobbes

Leviathan

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Topic

Might makes right War

Author

Thomas Hobbes

Source

Leviathan

Genre

Political literature Philosophical literature

Language

English

Time

1651 1650s 17th century

Era

European Renaissance

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan or The Matter, Forme and Power of a Commonwealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil. London: Andrew Crooke, 1651, pt. 1, ch. 13.

Current Citation

Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan, edited by Christopher Brooke. Penguin Classics, 2017, pt. 1, ch. 13.

I'm smart, you're dumb, I'm big, you're little, I'm right, you're wrong, and there's nothing you can do about it.

Matilda

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Topic

Might makes right

Speaker

Harry Wormwood

Actor

Danny DeVito

Source

Matilda

Medium

Film

Genre

Comedy (film) Comedy

Language

English

Time

1996 1990s 20th century

Era

These lines do not appear in the book, and it was produced in 1996, after his death in 1990. I left the year as 1996. -AAM

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Matilda. Directed by Danny DeVito. Based on Matilda by Roald Dahl. TriStar Pictures/Jersey Films, 1996.

The great nations have always acted like gangsters, and the small nations like prostitutes.

Stanley Kubrick

More information about this quote

Topic

Morality in foreign policy Foreign policy International politics Might makes right

Speaker

Stanley Kubrick

Source

The Guardian

Medium

Newspaper

Language

English

Time

1963 1960s 20th century

Authentication Score 1

Citation

Kubrick, Stanley. Quoted in The Guardian. 5 June 1963.