--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: King has absolute power. And what he has…" description: "\"King has absolute power. And what he has given he can taken away.\" — Anne Boleyn" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/239/anne-boleyn-31986_absolute-power_king-has-absolute-power-and-what-he-has_2820095.png" --- # King has absolute power. And what he has given he can… ![“King has absolute power. And what he has given he can taken away.” quote by Anne Boleyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/239/anne-boleyn-31986_absolute-power_king-has-absolute-power-and-what-he-has_2820095.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/239/anne-boleyn-31986_absolute-power_king-has-absolute-power-and-what-he-has_2820095.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/239/anne-boleyn-31986_absolute-power_king-has-absolute-power-and-what-he-has_2820095.png) > “King has absolute power. And what he has given he can taken away.” [Anne Boleyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-boleyn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Monarchs hold total authority, which can be granted and revoked at will. **In simple terms:** Kings can give and take power. Key Takeaway Beware of absolute power’s volatility. Themes politics authority power fragility history Mood cautious inquisitive Type political historical When to use this quote - government - leadership - legal reform - historical analysis Key Concepts Political theory monarchy law Questions to Reflect On - How can societies check unchecked authority? - What safeguards protect against sudden power loss? A Different Perspective Power can be limited by institutions and public will. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absolute power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolute-power/) [Absolutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolutes/) [Given](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/given/) [King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/king/) [King Absolute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/king-absolute-3583771/) [Kings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kings/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Power Given](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power-given-739083/) [Taken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taken/) [Taken Away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taken-away/) ## Related quotes > [“The power of a king was not absolute, after all: it could be restrained by the will of the people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-follett/the-power-of-a-king-was-not-absolute-after-all-it-could-be-restrained/) [Ken Follett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-follett/) > [Anarchy is the stepping stone to absolute power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/anarchy-is-the-stepping-stone-to-absolute-power/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [The threat to change Senate rules is a raw abuse of power and will destroy the very checks and balances our founding fathers put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-reid/the-threat-to-change-senate-rules-is-a-raw-abuse-of-power-and-will/) [Harry Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-reid/) > [Has justice ever grown in the soil of absolute power? Has not justice always come from the ... heart and spirit of men who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/has-justice-ever-grown-in-the-soil-of-absolute-power-has-not-justice/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [If you are an eighteen or nineteen-year-old with little education, as is often the case, and you're put in charge of many, many people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yaroslav-trofimov/if-you-are-an-eighteen-or-nineteen-year-old-with-little-education-as/) [Yaroslav Trofimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yaroslav-trofimov/) > [The Book of Job is advice on how to live in terms of the absolute power of nature. Leviathan is advice on how to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-phillip-verene/the-book-of-job-is-advice-on-how-to-live-in-terms-of-the-absolute/) [Donald Phillip Verene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-phillip-verene/) > [A nation of slaves is always prepared to applaud the clemency of their master who, in the abuse of absolute power, does not proceed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/a-nation-of-slaves-is-always-prepared-to-applaud-the-clemency-of/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [Absolute power, as we have always known, corrupts absolutely; it corrupts because it does not do the trick for the individual. Reality always creeps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/absolute-power-as-we-have-always-known-corrupts-absolutely-it/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [Power kills, absolute power kills absolutely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolph-rummel/power-kills-absolute-power-kills-absolutely/) [Rudolph Rummel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolph-rummel/) > [“Power is never given, it's taken." It is an open secret that there exists a conflict between a new generation of young black leadership…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wesley-lowery/power-is-never-given-it-s-taken-it-is-an-open-secret-that-there/) [Wesley Lowery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wesley-lowery/) > [“No matter what degree of power may be given us for a moment of need, let no one ever think he or she has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-t-kendall-2/no-matter-what-degree-of-power-may-be-given-us-for-a-moment-of-need/) [R.T. Kendall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-t-kendall-2/) > [Power is not anything that's given away. Power is something you have to compete for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pelosi/power-is-not-anything-that-s-given-away-power-is-something-you-have/) [Nancy Pelosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pelosi/) > [The real problem is that the way that power is given out in our society pits us against each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-hill/the-real-problem-is-that-the-way-that-power-is-given-out-in-our/) [Anita Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-hill/) > [Real power is not given to us or even created; real power is realized. It comes from realizing an inner sense of peace, self-worth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-ornish/real-power-is-not-given-to-us-or-even-created-real-power-is-realized/) [Dean Ornish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-ornish/) > [“I saw more clearly how much power she had given me, the damage I could do, her dependence on what I chose to say.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mia-alvar/i-saw-more-clearly-how-much-power-she-had-given-me-the-damage-i-could/) [Mia Alvar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mia-alvar/) ## More by Anne Boleyn > [The king has been very good to me. He promoted me from a simple maid to be a marchioness. Then he raised me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-boleyn/the-king-has-been-very-good-to-me-he-promoted-me-from-a-simple-maid/) [Anne Boleyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-boleyn/) > [Remember me when you do pray that hope doth lead from day to day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-boleyn/remember-me-when-you-do-pray-that-hope-doth-lead-from-day-to-day/) [Anne Boleyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-boleyn/) > [“Seduce me. Write letters to me. And poems, I love poems. Ravish me with your words. Seduce me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-boleyn/seduce-me-write-letters-to-me-and-poems-i-love-poems-ravish-me-with/) [Anne Boleyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-boleyn/) > [The executioner is, I believe, very expert; and my neck is very slender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-boleyn/the-executioner-is-i-believe-very-expert-and-my-neck-is-very-slender/) [Anne Boleyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-boleyn/) > [To Jesus Christ I commend my soul; Lord Jesus, receive my soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-boleyn/to-jesus-christ-i-commend-my-soul-lord-jesus-receive-my-soul/) [Anne Boleyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-boleyn/) > [“Ella yace en el suelo junto a mí...pero fuimos como dos mariposas nocturnas atraídas a la llama y quemadas.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-boleyn/ella-yace-en-el-suelo-junto-a-m-pero-fuimos-como-dos-mariposas/) [Anne Boleyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-boleyn/) > [If it ever lay in my power, I will work the Cardinal as much displeasure as he has done to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-boleyn/if-it-ever-lay-in-my-power-i-will-work-the-cardinal-as-much/) [Anne Boleyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-boleyn/) > [O Death, rock me asleep, bring me to quiet rest, let pass my weary guiltless ghost out of my careful breast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-boleyn/o-death-rock-me-asleep-bring-me-to-quiet-rest-let-pass-my-weary/) [Anne Boleyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-boleyn/) > [And thus I take my leave of the world and of you all, and I heartily desire you all to pray for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-boleyn/and-thus-i-take-my-leave-of-the-world-and-of-you-all-and-i-heartily/) [Anne Boleyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-boleyn/) > [“grudge who grudge”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-boleyn/grudge-who-grudge/) [Anne Boleyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-boleyn/) > [O Lord have mercy on me, to God I commend my soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-boleyn/o-lord-have-mercy-on-me-to-god-i-commend-my-soul/) [Anne Boleyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-boleyn/) > [From a private gentlewoman you have made me first a marchioness, then a queen; and, as you can raise me no higher in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-boleyn/from-a-private-gentlewoman-you-have-made-me-first-a-marchioness-then/) [Anne Boleyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-boleyn/) > [Good Christian people, I am come hither to die, for according to the law, and by the law I am judged to die, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-boleyn/good-christian-people-i-am-come-hither-to-die-for-according-to-the-2/) [Anne Boleyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-boleyn/) [Explore all 14 Anne Boleyn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-boleyn/) ## More Absolute power quotes > [“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-emerich-edward-dalberg-acton/power-tends-to-corrupt-and-absolute-power-corrupts-absolutely-great/) [John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-emerich-edward-dalberg-acton/) > [Anarchy is the stepping stone to absolute power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/anarchy-is-the-stepping-stone-to-absolute-power/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [“As Israel made the wants of his national existence the law of the world, as under the dominance of these wants he deified even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-feuerbach/as-israel-made-the-wants-of-his-national-existence-the-law-of-the/) [Ludwig Feuerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-feuerbach/) > [Sometimes we like to think if we had power, that we would be different, and we would be omnipotent, but the truth is absolute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-ackie/sometimes-we-like-to-think-if-we-had-power-that-we-would-be-different/) [Naomi Ackie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-ackie/) > [Absolute power, as we have always known, corrupts absolutely; it corrupts because it does not do the trick for the individual. Reality always creeps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/absolute-power-as-we-have-always-known-corrupts-absolutely-it/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [A nation of slaves is always prepared to applaud the clemency of their master who, in the abuse of absolute power, does not proceed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/a-nation-of-slaves-is-always-prepared-to-applaud-the-clemency-of/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-pitt-1st-earl-of-chatham/unlimited-power-is-apt-to-corrupt-the-minds-of-those-who-possess-it/) [William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-pitt-1st-earl-of-chatham/) > [The Book of Job is advice on how to live in terms of the absolute power of nature. Leviathan is advice on how to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-phillip-verene/the-book-of-job-is-advice-on-how-to-live-in-terms-of-the-absolute/) [Donald Phillip Verene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-phillip-verene/) > [God cannot approve of a system of servitude, in which the master is guilty of assuming absolute power - of assuming God's place and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerrit-smith/god-cannot-approve-of-a-system-of-servitude-in-which-the-master-is/) [Gerrit Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerrit-smith/) > [“With absolute power, corruption and evil seep in humanity, and that evil continues to flourish as the good of humankind lies idle in darkness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/with-absolute-power-corruption-and-evil-seep-in-humanity-and-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you are an eighteen or nineteen-year-old with little education, as is often the case, and you're put in charge of many, many people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yaroslav-trofimov/if-you-are-an-eighteen-or-nineteen-year-old-with-little-education-as/) [Yaroslav Trofimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yaroslav-trofimov/) > [“As history has also shown, especially in the twentieth century, one of the first things an ideologue will do after achieving absolute power is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/as-history-has-also-shown-especially-in-the-twentieth-century-one-of/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [We're taught Lord Acton's axiom: all power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely. I believed that when I started these books, but I don't believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-caro/we-re-taught-lord-acton-s-axiom-all-power-corrupts-absolute-power/) [Robert Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-caro/) > [Absolute power can only be supported by error, ignorance and prejudice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/absolute-power-can-only-be-supported-by-error-ignorance-and-prejudice/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Has justice ever grown in the soil of absolute power? Has not justice always come from the ... heart and spirit of men who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/has-justice-ever-grown-in-the-soil-of-absolute-power-has-not-justice/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) [Browse all 180 Absolute power quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolute-power/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "King has absolute power. 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