--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is not easy for a person to do any…" description: "\"It is not easy for a person to do any great harm when his tenure of office is short, whereas long possession begets tyranny.\" — Aristotle" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/072/aristotle-78_begets_it-is-not-easy-for-a-person-to-do-any-gr_1501147.png" --- # It is not easy for a person to do any great harm when his… ![“It is not easy for a person to do any great harm when his tenure of office is short, whereas long possession begets tyranny.” quote by Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/072/aristotle-78_begets_it-is-not-easy-for-a-person-to-do-any-gr_1501147.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/072/aristotle-78_begets_it-is-not-easy-for-a-person-to-do-any-gr_1501147.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/072/aristotle-78_begets_it-is-not-easy-for-a-person-to-do-any-gr_1501147.png) > “It is not easy for a person to do any great harm when his tenure of office is short, whereas long possession begets tyranny.” [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Short terms limit power, preventing abuse; long terms concentrate authority, fostering tyranny. **In simple terms:** Short terms curb abuse; long terms risk tyranny. Key Takeaway Prefer limited tenure to protect liberty. Themes politics power governance Mood cautious reflective Type advisory political When to use this quote - elections - legislative service - corporate leadership - nonprofit board terms Key Concepts tyranny term limits authority accountability Questions to Reflect On - How does tenure length affect decision quality? - What safeguards balance stability and liberty? A Different Perspective Short terms may also cause instability or lack of expertise. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Harm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harm/) [Office](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/office/) [Possession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possession/) [Tenure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tenure/) [Tyranny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tyranny/) ## Related quotes > [Secrecy begets tyranny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/secrecy-begets-tyranny/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [It is not at all incredible, that a book which has been so long in the possession of mankind should contain many truths as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-butler/it-is-not-at-all-incredible-that-a-book-which-has-been-so-long-in-the/) [Joseph Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-butler/) > [A significant number of people believe tribal people still live and dress as they did 300 years ago. 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It's natural.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/munshi-premchand/trust-begets-trust-and-untrust-begets-untrust-it-s-natural/) [Munshi Premchand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/munshi-premchand/) Browse all 257 Begets quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is not easy for a person to do any great harm when his tenure of office is short, whereas long possession begets tyranny.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Aristotle" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/it-is-not-easy-for-a-person-to-do-any-great-harm-when-his-tenure-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Begets" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/it-is-not-easy-for-a-person-to-do-any-great-harm-when-his-tenure-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/072/aristotle-78_begets_it-is-not-easy-for-a-person-to-do-any-gr_1501147.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/072/aristotle-78_begets_it-is-not-easy-for-a-person-to-do-any-gr_1501147.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/072/aristotle-78_begets_it-is-not-easy-for-a-person-to-do-any-gr_1501147.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is not easy for a person to do any great harm when his tenure of office is short, whereas long possession…” — Aristotle", "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": "Aristotle", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is not easy for a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/it-is-not-easy-for-a-person-to-do-any-great-harm-when-his-tenure-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/it-is-not-easy-for-a-person-to-do-any-great-harm-when-his-tenure-of/#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 } } ] } ```