--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The tyrant will always find a pretext for…" description: "\"The tyrant will always find a pretext for his tyranny.\" — Aesop" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/aesop-1073_pretext_the-tyrant-will-always-find-a-pretext-fo_2165774.jpg" --- # The tyrant will always find a pretext for his tyranny. ![“The tyrant will always find a pretext for his tyranny.” quote by Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/aesop-1073_pretext_the-tyrant-will-always-find-a-pretext-fo_2165774.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/aesop-1073_pretext_the-tyrant-will-always-find-a-pretext-fo_2165774.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/aesop-1073_pretext_the-tyrant-will-always-find-a-pretext-fo_2165774.jpg) > “The tyrant will always find a pretext for his tyranny.” [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A tyrant rationalizes oppression by inventing excuses, showing power’s reliance on fabricated justifications. **In simple terms:** Tyrants use excuses to oppress. Key Takeaway Question authority’s motives. Themes power oppression justification Mood critical alert Type cautionary philosophical When to use this quote - political discourse - workplace bullying - social injustice - personal boundaries Key Concepts pretext tyranny Questions to Reflect On - What excuses do you notice? - How can you expose false narratives? A Different Perspective Excuses may be persuasive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Pretext](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretext/) [Pretext Tyranny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretext-tyranny-4615079/) [Tyranny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tyranny/) [Tyrant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tyrant/) [Tyrant Pretext](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tyrant-pretext-4615078/) [Tyrants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tyrants/) ## Related quotes > [Law is often the tyrant's will, and always so when it violates the right of an individual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/law-is-often-the-tyrant-s-will-and-always-so-when-it-violates-the/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [A prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-prince-whose-character-is-thus-marked-by-every-act-which-may-define/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [ \[It is a basic principle of a tyrant\] to unarm his people of weapons, money and all means whereby they resist his power. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-raleigh/it-is-a-basic-principle-of-a-tyrant-to-unarm-his-people-of-weapons/) [Walter Raleigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-raleigh/) > [I would rather be my own tyrant than have someone else tyrannize me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-flagler/i-would-rather-be-my-own-tyrant-than-have-someone-else-tyrannize-me/) [Henry Flagler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-flagler/) > [In the States, I learned to fight for every idea. Sometimes, a director has to be a tyrant to keep the quality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-pierre-jeunet/in-the-states-i-learned-to-fight-for-every-idea-sometimes-a-director/) [Jean-Pierre Jeunet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-pierre-jeunet/) > [But if one wishes to be absolute master of all, to obtain the entire inheritance, and to exclude his brothers from even a third…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-of-nyssa/but-if-one-wishes-to-be-absolute-master-of-all-to-obtain-the-entire/) [Gregory of Nyssa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-of-nyssa/) > [Between a tyrant and a prince there is this single or chief difference, that the latter obeys the law and rules the people by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-of-salisbury/between-a-tyrant-and-a-prince-there-is-this-single-or-chief/) [John of Salisbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-of-salisbury/) > [A wicked tyrant is better than a wicked war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/a-wicked-tyrant-is-better-than-a-wicked-war/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [The government is a tyrant living by theft, and therefore has no business to engage in any business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-tucker/the-government-is-a-tyrant-living-by-theft-and-therefore-has-no/) [Benjamin Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-tucker/) > [Let us render the tyrant no aid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/let-us-render-the-tyrant-no-aid/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [A tyrant does not remain in the world; But the curse on him abides forever!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-vaughan/a-tyrant-does-not-remain-in-the-world-but-the-curse-on-him-abides/) [Bill Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-vaughan/) > [Every apathetic individual is a brick in a tyrant's throne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-slater/every-apathetic-individual-is-a-brick-in-a-tyrant-s-throne/) [Philip Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-slater/) > [Love reigns a very tyrant in my heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-otway/love-reigns-a-very-tyrant-in-my-heart/) [Thomas Otway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-otway/) > [I will never, for the future, paint the portrait of a tyrant until his head lies before me on the scaffold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-louis-david/i-will-never-for-the-future-paint-the-portrait-of-a-tyrant-until-his/) [Jacques-Louis David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-louis-david/) > [The tyrant has fallen, and Iraq is free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/the-tyrant-has-fallen-and-iraq-is-free/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) ## More by Aesop > [“Lay not the blame on me, O sailor, but on the winds. By nature I am as calm and safe as the land itself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/lay-not-the-blame-on-me-o-sailor-but-on-the-winds-by-nature-i-am-as/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [It is in vain to expect our prayers to be heard, if we do not strive as well as pray.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/it-is-in-vain-to-expect-our-prayers-to-be-heard-if-we-do-not-strive/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [Beware of a wolf in sheep's clothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/beware-of-a-wolf-in-sheep-s-clothing/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [Better a long life of toil than a short one of ease.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/better-a-long-life-of-toil-than-a-short-one-of-ease/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [Don't let your special character and values, the secret that you know and no one else does, the truth - don't let that get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/don-t-let-your-special-character-and-values-the-secret-that-you-know/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [Every man carries two bags about him, one in front and one behind, and both are full of faults. The bag in front contains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/every-man-carries-two-bags-about-him-one-in-front-and-one-behind-and/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [It pays to be content with your lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/it-pays-to-be-content-with-your-lot/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [Be content with your lot; one cannot be first in everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/be-content-with-your-lot-one-cannot-be-first-in-everything/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [Equals make the best friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/equals-make-the-best-friends/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [once upon a time all the rivers combined to protest against the action of the sea in making their waters salt. "When we come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/once-upon-a-time-all-the-rivers-combined-to-protest-against-the/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [In union there is strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/in-union-there-is-strength/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [“Be content with your lot; once cannot be first in everything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/be-content-with-your-lot-once-cannot-be-first-in-everything/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [False friends leave you in times of trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/false-friends-leave-you-in-times-of-trouble/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [Better beans and bacon in peace than cakes and ale in fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/better-beans-and-bacon-in-peace-than-cakes-and-ale-in-fear/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [“The Sun is bad enough even while he is single, drying up our marshes with his heat as he does. But what will become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/the-sun-is-bad-enough-even-while-he-is-single-drying-up-our-marshes/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) [Explore all 297 Aesop quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) ## More Pretext quotes > [We must always work, and a self-respecting artist must not fold his hands on the pretext that he is not in the mood. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/we-must-always-work-and-a-self-respecting-artist-must-not-fold-his/) [Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/) > [Treacherous assassins, enemies of the people, and worthy of everyone's ridicule are those who, under the pretext of guiding future generations, teach them an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-marti/treacherous-assassins-enemies-of-the-people-and-worthy-of-everyone-s/) [Jose Marti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-marti/) > [“He said to himself, that this child had a right to know life before renouncing it, that to deprive her in advance, and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-said-to-himself-that-this-child-had-a-right-to-know-life-before/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Of all hostile feelings, envy is perhaps the hardest to be subdued, because hardly any one owns it even to himself, but looks out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/of-all-hostile-feelings-envy-is-perhaps-the-hardest-to-be-subdued/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [ \[Censors are\] people with secret attractions to various temptations... They are defending themselves under the pretext of defending others, because at heart they fear… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-jones/censors-are-people-with-secret-attractions-to-various-temptations/) [Ernest Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-jones/) > [When observers look back 50 years from now, the arguments supporting Florida's ban on same-sex marriage, though just as sincerely held \[as views of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lewis-hinkle/when-observers-look-back-50-years-from-now-the-arguments-supporting/) [Robert Lewis Hinkle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lewis-hinkle/) > [The tone and tendency of liberalism...is to attack the institutions of the country under the name of reform and to make war on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/the-tone-and-tendency-of-liberalism-is-to-attack-the-institutions-of/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [War always reaches the depths of horror because of idiots who perpetuate terror from generation to generation under the pretext of vengeance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-sajer/war-always-reaches-the-depths-of-horror-because-of-idiots-who/) [Guy Sajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-sajer/) > [I wrote a study about this question, The Lessons of October, which served as a pretext for my elimination from the government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-trotsky/i-wrote-a-study-about-this-question-the-lessons-of-october-which/) [Leon Trotsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-trotsky/) > [There is nothing an addict likes more, or that serves as better pretext for continuing his present way of life, than to place the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-dalrymple/there-is-nothing-an-addict-likes-more-or-that-serves-as-better/) [Theodore Dalrymple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-dalrymple/) > [There is no family in America without a clock, and consequently there is no fair pretext for the usual Sunday medley of dreadful sounds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-is-no-family-in-america-without-a-clock-and-consequently-there/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The enemy is only a pretext to test our strength](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-enemy-is-only-a-pretext-to-test-our-strength/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [...the great movement of apostasy being organized in every country for the establishment of a One-World Church which shall have neither dogmas, nor hierarchy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-pius-x/the-great-movement-of-apostasy-being-organized-in-every-country-for/) [Pope Pius X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-pius-x/) > [Often, the pretexts for starting a war are not real shortages of land, food or fuel, but rather perceptions - like fear, honor and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-davis-hanson/often-the-pretexts-for-starting-a-war-are-not-real-shortages-of-land/) [Victor Davis Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-davis-hanson/) > [Temporary deviations from fundamental principles are always more or less dangerous. When the first pretext fails, those who become interested in prolonging the evil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/temporary-deviations-from-fundamental-principles-are-always-more-or/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) [Browse all 195 Pretext quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretext/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The tyrant will always find a pretext for his tyranny.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Aesop" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/the-tyrant-will-always-find-a-pretext-for-his-tyranny/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Pretext" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/the-tyrant-will-always-find-a-pretext-for-his-tyranny/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/aesop-1073_pretext_the-tyrant-will-always-find-a-pretext-fo_2165774.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/aesop-1073_pretext_the-tyrant-will-always-find-a-pretext-fo_2165774.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/aesop-1073_pretext_the-tyrant-will-always-find-a-pretext-fo_2165774.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The tyrant will always find a pretext for his tyranny.” — Aesop", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Aesop", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The tyrant will always find a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/the-tyrant-will-always-find-a-pretext-for-his-tyranny/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/the-tyrant-will-always-find-a-pretext-for-his-tyranny/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```