38+ Quotes On Power From Shakespeare And Literature

The idea of power differs according to perspective.

It is widely believed that possession of power often corrupts people. Power itself does not possess the ability to corrupt but it is the motive that acts as the guiding principle.

Have you ever felt weak and powerless? It's because power comes from faith and belief in the self. When we lose confidence and faith in ourselves we become weak. One must know how to hold power and how to wield it properly. Power can be used constructively like the way Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, and many others did. However, power can prove to be highly destructive if not placed in the right hands. This can be witnessed when we turn the pages of history. Various dictatorships are examples of this - with all the power of governance, they promoted mass-slaughter and genocide. It goes without saying that power is a weapon that needs to be used wisely as it can either take one to great heights of success or prove to be the reason for their undoing. Check out these highly motivating power quotes, Machiavelli quotes on power, power quotes from literature to boost up your faith and confidence.

If you love these power quotes then also check out Shakespeare quotes about death and 'Hamlet' revenge quotes.

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These famous power quotes have been curated from across the world - from pages of literature like Shakespeare's 'Macbeth', from history, science, and philosophy. So, give these power quotes a read for understanding the real essence of power.

1. "Power is not a means; it is an end."

- George Orwell.

2. "He who wishes to be obeyed must know how to command."

- Niccolo Machiavelli.

3. “The measure of a man is what he does with power.”

― Plato.

4. “If you want to find out what a man is to the bottom, give him power. Any man can stand adversity — only a great man can stand prosperity. It is the glory of Abraham Lincoln that he never abused power only on the side of mercy”

― Robert Ingersoll.

5. "Stars, hide your fires, Let not light see my black and deep desires."

- Shakespeare, 'Macbeth'.

6. "Justice and power must be brought together, so that whatever is just may be powerful, and whatever is powerful may be just."

- Blaise Pascal.

7. "That's the superhuman power...the ability to influence and shape the lives of people."

- Shaun King.

8. “We all have the power within us, to make something of ourselves, the thing is very few believe it.”

– Nikki Rowe.

9. "Never was anything great achieved without danger."

- Niccolo Machiavelli.

10. “As you enter positions of trust and power, dream a little before you think.”

― Toni Morrison.

11. “I don’t know what frightens me more, the power that crushes us, or our endless ability to endure it.”

– Gregory David Roberts.

12. “The lion cannot protect himself from traps, and the fox cannot defend himself from wolves. One must therefore be a fox to recognize traps, and a lion to frighten wolves.”

– Niccolo Machiavelli.

13. “And though I could With barefaced power sweep him from my sight And bid my will avouch it, yet I must not, For certain friends that are both his and mine, Whose loves I may not drop, but wail his fall.”

- Shakespeare, 'Macbeth'.

14. “Recognizing power in another does not diminish your own.”

― Joss Whedon.

15. "Truth is powerful and it prevails."

- Sojourner Truth.

16. “Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion: The potential for greatness lives within each of us.”

– Wilma Rudolph.

17. "Unlimited power corrupts the possessor."

- William Pitt.

18. "The object of power is power."

- George Orwell.

19. “It is not titles that honor men, but men that honor titles.”

– Niccolo Machiavelli.

20. "Mastering others is strength. Mastering yourself is true power."

- Lao Tzu.

Read through these power quotes to know about the power that knowledge holds.

21. "Knowledge is the most democratic source of power."

- Alvin Toffler.

22. "Knowledge does away with darkness, suspense, and doubt; for these cannot exist where knowledge is...In knowledge there is power."

- Joseph Smith, Jr.

23. “I only want power so I can get books.”

― Eliezer Yudkowsky, 'Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality'.

24. "Science gives man knowledge which is power; religion gives man wisdom which is control."

- Martin Luther.

25. "A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions."

– Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

26. "When you know better you do better."

- Maya Angelou.

27. “Don’t underestimate the power of a mind that is made up.”

– Miya Yamanouchi.

28. "Self-reverence, self-knowledge, self-control; these three alone lead one to sovereign power."

- Alfred Lord Tennyson.

29. "It is my inner conviction that the development of science seeks in the main to satisfy the longing for pure knowledge."

- Albert Einstein.

Abraham Lincoln is the best example of great leadership. These power quotes will tell of the ideas that Lincoln harbored while using the power that was entrusted to him.

30. “You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.”

-Abraham Lincoln.

31. "The nation has passed its perils, and is free, prosperous, and powerful."

-Abraham Lincoln.

32. "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."

-Abraham Lincoln.

33. "Those who have suffered by intemperance personally, and have reformed, are the most powerful and efficient instruments to push the reformation to ultimate success."

-Abraham Lincoln.

34. “Any people anywhere, being inclined and having the power, have the right to rise up, and shake off the existing government, and form a new one that suits them better. This is a most valuable – a most sacred right – a right, which we hope and believe, is to liberate the world.”

-Abraham Lincoln.

It's rightly said that words are the deadliest of weapons and these power quotes prove why they are so.

35. "If we understood the power of our thoughts, we would guard them more closely...In our thoughts and words we create our own weaknesses and our own strengths."

- Betty Eadie.

36. "Speech has power. Words do not fade. What starts out as a sound, ends in a deed."

- Abraham Joshua Herschel.

37. "Power is the most persuasive rhetoric."

- Friedrich Schiller.

38. “Your words are very powerful and what you say matters; keep them positive and powerful.”

– Farshad Asl.

39. “I know nothing in the world that has as much power as a word. Sometimes I write one, and I look at it, until it begins to shine.”

― Emily Dickinson.

40. "Words have energy and power with the ability to help, to heal, to hinder, to hurt, to harm, to humiliate, and to humble."

- Yehuda Berg.

41. "When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful."

- Malala Yousafzai.

42. "A word after a word after a word is power."

- Margaret Atwood.

43. "Power is a word the meaning of which we do not understand."

— Leo Tolstoy, 'War and Peace'.

44. "Raise your words, not your voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder."

- Rumi.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for power quotes then why not take a look at quotes on individuality or quotes on stupidity.

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