--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Historians of the sentimental school have…" description: "\"“Historians of the sentimental school have sometimes regretted that royalty became absolute, while at the same time rejoicing that it installed plebeia..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80f/bertrand-de-jouvenel-20688_absolutism_historians-of-the-sentimental-school-hav_1173800.png" --- # Historians of the sentimental school have sometimes… ![“Historians of the sentimental school have sometimes regretted that royalty became absolute, while at the same time rejoicing that it installed plebeians in office. They deceive themselves. Royalty exalted plebeians just because it aimed at becoming absolute; it became absolute because it had…” quote by Bertrand De Jouvenel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80f/bertrand-de-jouvenel-20688_absolutism_historians-of-the-sentimental-school-hav_1173800.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80f/bertrand-de-jouvenel-20688_absolutism_historians-of-the-sentimental-school-hav_1173800.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80f/bertrand-de-jouvenel-20688_absolutism_historians-of-the-sentimental-school-hav_1173800.png) > ““Historians of the sentimental school have sometimes regretted that royalty became absolute, while at the same time rejoicing that it installed plebeians in office. They deceive themselves. Royalty exalted plebeians just because it aimed at becoming absolute; it became absolute because it had exalted plebeians.”” [Bertrand De Jouvenel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-de-jouvenel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote critiques the paradox where rulers claim to empower common people while actually consolidating absolute power, using the elevation of plebeians as a means to that absolute authority. **In simple terms:** Rulers claim to empower people but actually seek absolute power. Key Takeaway Beware of power that masks itself as empowerment. Themes politics power elitism Mood skeptical critical Type political historical When to use this quote - government reform - public policy - citizen activism - historical analysis Key Concepts social hierarchy political theory Questions to Reflect On - How does empowerment become a tool for control? - When does genuine empowerment occur? A Different Perspective The claim may oversimplify complex historical motives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absolutism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolutism/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Royalty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/royalty/) ## Related quotes > [“The modern absolutism, which we find the most natural thing in the world, would have been quite beyond the dreams of the most absolute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-de-jouvenel/the-modern-absolutism-which-we-find-the-most-natural-thing-in-the/) [Bertrand De Jouvenel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-de-jouvenel/) > [The uniting of Orthodoxy with state absolutism came about on the soil of a non-belief in the Divineness of the earth, in the earthly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-berdyaev/the-uniting-of-orthodoxy-with-state-absolutism-came-about-on-the-soil/) [Nikolai Berdyaev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-berdyaev/) > [As liberals, men like Richter viewed socialism as the great modern counter-revolution, and believed that the achievement of the socialist goal would lead both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-raico/as-liberals-men-like-richter-viewed-socialism-as-the-great-modern/) [Ralph Raico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-raico/) > [Moral relativism says morality is relative, not absolute, I want to show moral relativism, in its popular form, is logically incoherent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/moral-relativism-says-morality-is-relative-not-absolute-i-want-to/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [Does it seem to you impossible to imagine anything more inextricable than the social contract, when you think of the frightful number of relations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/does-it-seem-to-you-impossible-to-imagine-anything-more-inextricable/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [The saving principles and doctrines of the Church are established, fixed, and unchangeable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-e-faust/the-saving-principles-and-doctrines-of-the-church-are-established/) [James E. 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Hulme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-e-hulme/) > [Those who claim absolutism is merely a myth are right that it has been misused simply as a byword for political centralisation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-wilson/those-who-claim-absolutism-is-merely-a-myth-are-right-that-it-has/) Peter Wilson ## More by Bertrand De Jouvenel > [But there are no institutions on earth which enable each separate person to have a hand in the exercise of Power, for Power is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-de-jouvenel/but-there-are-no-institutions-on-earth-which-enable-each-separate/) [Bertrand de Jouvenel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-de-jouvenel/) > [It is appropriate here to recall that the so-called Dark Ages began with the flight of the individuals into the protection of lords or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-de-jouvenel/it-is-appropriate-here-to-recall-that-the-so-called-dark-ages-began/) [Bertrand de Jouvenel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-de-jouvenel/) > [“As every advance of Power is useful for war, so war is useful for the advance of power; war is like a sheep-dog harrying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-de-jouvenel/as-every-advance-of-power-is-useful-for-war-so-war-is-useful-for-the/) [Bertrand De Jouvenel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-de-jouvenel/) > [“The modern absolutism, which we find the most natural thing in the world, would have been quite beyond the dreams of the most absolute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-de-jouvenel/the-modern-absolutism-which-we-find-the-most-natural-thing-in-the/) [Bertrand De Jouvenel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-de-jouvenel/) > [Ransack the history of revolutions, and it will be found that every fall of a regime has been presaged by a defiance which went…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-de-jouvenel/ransack-the-history-of-revolutions-and-it-will-be-found-that-every/) [Bertrand de Jouvenel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-de-jouvenel/) > [“The man who has dedicated himself to the success of the protect, the master builder, no longer has any freedom: his conduct is now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-de-jouvenel/the-man-who-has-dedicated-himself-to-the-success-of-the-protect-the/) [Bertrand De Jouvenel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-de-jouvenel/) > [“The entire stock of relationships which suited in war—militiae—was regarded as inadmissible and improper in peace—domi. 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