Robert Payne
Robert Payne
Robert Payne quotes about
bored long empires
Long before the empire had reached its greatest extent, the Romans were bored by it.
kings glory pope
All is forgiven to kings and popes. History grants them immunity, even a full pardon, even when they admit their crimes and glory in them.
accomplishment corruption permit
Nietzsche's accomplishment is that he permits us to see corruption from the inside.
dictatorship
A totalitarian dictatorship cannot explain; it can only suppress.
civilization decline fragmentation
Fragmentation occurs when a civilization is in decline.
effectiveness naked corruption
Naked power has its limitations, since power is a generator of corruption and corruption in its turn tends to dilute the effectiveness of power.
liars lying believe
Corrupt men are always liars. Lies are their instruments, their pleasure, their solace. In time they come to believe their lies, or rather to half-believe them.
position-of-power garbage would-be
It is no more rational to have lawyers in positions of power than it would be to have garbage collectors in positions of power. And in human terms garbage collectors would be preferable.
victory gains helping
It is precisely when we help one another that we gain our victories over corruption, but the victory is assured only when we help one another with all our strength.
government ends domination
For domination has nothing whatsoever to do with good government, and power as an end in itself destroys good government.
united-states population wealth
The United States is dangerously close to being a plutocracy. A third of the private wealth is owned by less than 5 percent of the population.
kingdoms firsts crumbling
Historically the first philosopher to enquire deeply into the nature of corruption in society was Ibn Khaldun (1322-1406), whose wandering life was largely spent in the northern littoral of Africa at a time when kingdoms and sultanates were crumbling.
relationship
The small Hitlers are around us every day.
believe growth markets strong
We believe that these markets will have strong growth potential.