A culture is not only the language and the arts of a people. It is all their history, all their hopes for the future. — Robert Payne Copy Share Image
The game of power is played remorselessly by men who have not the slightest knowledge of, or interest in, the way ordinary people live, and the ordinary people are too terrified to protest. — Robert Payne Copy Share Image
The game of power is played remorselessly by men who have not the slightest knowledge of, or interest in, the way ordinary people live,… — Robert Payne Copy Share Image
In the Middle Ages the king offered protection to his subjects in return for their loyalty, and the subjects were doubly protected, for the… — Robert Payne Copy Share Image
Long before the empire had reached its greatest extent, the Romans were bored by it. — Robert Payne Copy Share Image
It is no more rational to have lawyers in positions of power than it would be to have garbage collectors in positions of power.… — Robert Payne Copy Share Image
All is forgiven to kings and popes. History grants them immunity, even a full pardon, even when they admit their crimes and glory in… — Robert Payne Copy Share Image
A nation's wealth is too serious a matter to be left to the wealthy. The riches of a nation belong to all, to be… — Robert Payne Copy Share Image
For domination has nothing whatsoever to do with good government, and power as an end in itself destroys good government. — Robert Payne Copy Share Image
Nietzsche's accomplishment is that he permits us to see corruption from the inside. — Robert Payne Copy Share Image
Naked power has its limitations, since power is a generator of corruption and corruption in its turn tends to dilute the effectiveness of power. — Robert Payne Copy Share Image
At the heart of the mystery of corruption lies the desire of one man to impose his will on others to the largest possible… — Robert Payne Copy Share Image
Corruption appears to be a universal phenomenon that lays its own imperious claims on the world, and therefore it is the duty of all… — Robert Payne Copy Share Image
