A Quote by Frederick Lenz

Without wisdom, power tends to destroy the one who wields it.

Frederick Lenz

Quote Topics

Destroy Power Tends Wisdom Without

Quote Author

Frederick Lenz
American - Author
February 9, 1950 - April 12, 1998

Virtue comes through contemplation of the divine, and the exercise of philosophy. But it also comes through public service. The one is incomplete without the other. Power without wisdom is tyranny; wisdom without power is pointless.

Iain Pears

People want power but not wisdom. Power without wisdom is a very dangerous thing. Better to have wisdom first.

Frederick Lenz

Science and technology have freed humanity from many burdens and given us this new perspective and great power. This power can be used for the good of all. If wisdom governs our actions; but if the world is mad or foolish, it can destroy itself just when great advances and triumphs are almost without its grasp.

Jawaharlal Nehru

What sort of power is it that really and truly renders the deity present? Human beings automatically think of God as someone who possesses and wields power. Jesus forces people to consider whether that deeply rooted conviction is true or not. In historical terms it is readily apparent that power, left to its own inertial tendencies, tends to be oppressive in fact. So it cannot be the ultimate meditation of God, though human beings might tend to think so

Jon Sobrino

Whoever is full of wisdom is naturally compassionate; in fact we recognize that someone has gained spiritual wisdom by seeing their compassionate behavior. . . . Individuals and countries with power need to develop wisdom and compassion, for without these attributes, there is a danger that the power will be used to oppress and exploit others. (31)

Ravi Ravindra

Kundalini Yoga is the yoga of power. Without wisdom, a powerful person does not become more powerful. Their power will turn back on them and eventually destroy them. So those who are truly wise become most powerful.

Frederick Lenz

Power without wisdom is tyranny; wisdom without power is pointless.

Iain Pears

The power to tax involves the power to destroy;...the power to destroy may defeat and render useless the power to create.

John Marshall

There the union of Church and State tends strongly to paralyze some of the members of the body of Christ. Here there is no such influence to destroy spiritual life and power.

Josiah Strong

Like many things in our national life, we miscalculated. We overestimated our ability to control events, which is one of the great dangers of a great power. Power tends to be a substitute for judgment and wisdom.

Hubert H. Humphrey

If the benevolent ruler stays in power long enough, he eventually concludes that power and wisdom are the same thing. And as he possesses power, he must possess wisdom. He becomes converted to the seductive thesis that election to public office endows the official with both power and wisdom. At this point, he begins to lose his ability to distinguish between what is morally right and what is politically expedient.

Ben Moreell

If we continue to accumulate only power and not wisdom, we will surely destroy ourselves.

Carl Sagan

Power not only corrupts he who wields the power but those who submit to it. Those who grovel at the feet of power betray their fellows to hide themselves behind the cloak of submission. It is an evil thing.

Louis L'Amour

The advancement of freedom is not a matter of who wields political power over creative actions; rather, it depends upon the disassembling of such power.