--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The moment that the state came into…" description: "\"The moment that the state came into conflict with the higher power, the moment that it set itself up as an end in itself, it became identified with Aug..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f17/christopher-dawson-15516_augustine_the-moment-that-the-state-came-into-conf_2537950.jpg" --- # The moment that the state came into conflict with the… ![“The moment that the state came into conflict with the higher power, the moment that it set itself up as an end in itself, it became identified with Augustine's earthly city and lost all claims to a higher sanction than the law of force and self-interest. Without justice, what is a great kingdom…” quote by Christopher Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f17/christopher-dawson-15516_augustine_the-moment-that-the-state-came-into-conf_2537950.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f17/christopher-dawson-15516_augustine_the-moment-that-the-state-came-into-conf_2537950.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f17/christopher-dawson-15516_augustine_the-moment-that-the-state-came-into-conf_2537950.jpg) > “The moment that the state came into conflict with the higher power, the moment that it set itself up as an end in itself, it became identified with Augustine's earthly city and lost all claims to a higher sanction than the law of force and self-interest. Without justice, what is a great kingdom but a great robbery, magnum latrocinium?” [Christopher Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dawson/) ## 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 argues that when a state seeks power for its own sake, it becomes worldly and loses moral authority, reducing it to mere force and self‑interest. **In simple terms:** Power‑driven states become corrupt and lose higher purpose. Key Takeaway Avoid power for power’s sake. Themes politics ethics authority philosophy society Mood reflective critical Type philosophical theoretical When to use this quote - government policy - legal reform - civic education - ethical leadership Key Concepts state legitimacy moral authority political philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How can a state maintain moral legitimacy? - What safeguards prevent power from becoming self‑serving? A Different Perspective Power can be necessary for order; not all state power is corrupt. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/augustine/) [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [Conflict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conflict/) [Higher power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/higher-power/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Kingdoms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kingdoms/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Robbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/robbery/) [Sanctions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sanctions/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-interest/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [Every great robbery that was ever perpetrated upon a people has been by virtue of an in-the-name-of law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-parsons/every-great-robbery-that-was-ever-perpetrated-upon-a-people-has-been/) Albert Parsons > [What makes a kingdom great is its being like a down-flowing river,--the central point towards which all the smaller streams under Heaven converge; or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/what-makes-a-kingdom-great-is-its-being-like-a-down-flowing-river-the/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [What is prudence in the conduct of every private family can scarce be folly in that of a great kingdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/what-is-prudence-in-the-conduct-of-every-private-family-can-scarce-be/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [The great of the Kingdom have been those who loved God more than others did](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-w-tozer/the-great-of-the-kingdom-have-been-those-who-loved-god-more-than/) [A.W. Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-w-tozer/) > [Therefore, if a great kingdom humbles itself before a small kingdom, it shall make that small kingdom its prize. And if a small kingdom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/therefore-if-a-great-kingdom-humbles-itself-before-a-small-kingdom-it/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [“If you are to have a great kingdom, rule over yourself!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pubilius-syrus/if-you-are-to-have-a-great-kingdom-rule-over-yourself/) Pubilius Syrus > [“...together we shall see what is in this great kingdom of Denmark, and on this journey you will put from you all the sufferings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-tremain/together-we-shall-see-what-is-in-this-great-kingdom-of-denmark-and-on/) [Rose Tremain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-tremain/) > [St. Augustine teaches us that there is in each man a Serpent, an Eve, and an Adam. Our senses and natural propensities are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/st-augustine-teaches-us-that-there-is-in-each-man-a-serpent-an-eve/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [Augustine says that we may, out of our dead sins, make stepping stones to rise to the heights of perfection. What did he mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-stalker/augustine-says-that-we-may-out-of-our-dead-sins-make-stepping-stones/) [James Stalker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-stalker/) > [“I have become an enigma to myself. So said Saint Augustine. And herein lies my sickness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/i-have-become-an-enigma-to-myself-so-said-saint-augustine-and-herein/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [People are mostly sane enough, of course, in the affairs of common life: the getting of food, shelter, and so on. But the moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-stove/people-are-mostly-sane-enough-of-course-in-the-affairs-of-common-life/) [David Stove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-stove/) > [Patience is the companion of wisdom. --Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/patience-is-the-companion-of-wisdom-saint-augustine/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [There's a huge amount of work on Adam and Eve, from the ancient world to the present. Saint Augustine was obsessed with them.I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-greenblatt/there-s-a-huge-amount-of-work-on-adam-and-eve-from-the-ancient-world/) [Stephen Greenblatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-greenblatt/) > [ Again, I hear almost everyday from atheists who write off religion as primitive, premodern nonsense. I summon Aquinas, Augustine, Paul \[of Tarsus\], Teresa of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-barron/again-i-hear-almost-everyday-from-atheists-who-write-off-religion-as/) [Robert Barron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-barron/) > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) ## More by Christopher Dawson > [You can give men food and leisure and amusements and good conditions of work, and still they will remain unsatisfied. You can deny them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dawson/you-can-give-men-food-and-leisure-and-amusements-and-good-conditions/) [Christopher Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dawson/) > [It is Christian culture that has created Western man and the Western way of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dawson/it-is-christian-culture-that-has-created-western-man-and-the-western/) [Christopher Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dawson/) > [No civilisation, not even that of ancient Greece, has ever undergone such a continuous and profound process of change as Western Europe has done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dawson/no-civilisation-not-even-that-of-ancient-greece-has-ever-undergone/) [Christopher Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dawson/) > [The present age has seen a great slump in humanist values.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dawson/the-present-age-has-seen-a-great-slump-in-humanist-values/) [Christopher Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dawson/) > [Man can know his world without falling back on revelation; he can live his life without feeling his utter dependence on supernatural powers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dawson/man-can-know-his-world-without-falling-back-on-revelation-he-can-live/) [Christopher Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dawson/) > [The intercourse between the Mediterranean and the North or between the Atlantic and Central Europe was never purely economic or political; it also meant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dawson/the-intercourse-between-the-mediterranean-and-the-north-or-between/) [Christopher Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dawson/) > [The chief safeguard of personal freedom in a democratic society is the anarchy and disorder of capitalist individualism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dawson/the-chief-safeguard-of-personal-freedom-in-a-democratic-society-is/) [Christopher Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dawson/) > [And so, today, if the state can no longer appeal to the old moral principles that belong to the Christian tradition, it will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dawson/and-so-today-if-the-state-can-no-longer-appeal-to-the-old-moral/) [Christopher Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dawson/) > [Humanism and Divinity are as complementary to one another in theorder of culture, as are Nature and Grace in the order of being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dawson/humanism-and-divinity-are-as-complementary-to-one-another-in-theorder/) [Christopher Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dawson/) > [We have entered a new phase of culture - we may call it the Age of the Cinema - in which the most amazing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dawson/we-have-entered-a-new-phase-of-culture-we-may-call-it-the-age-of-the/) [Christopher Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dawson/) > [“Culture was actually humanity’s attempt to extend the womb.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dawson/culture-was-actually-humanity-s-attempt-to-extend-the-womb/) [Christopher Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dawson/) > [For humanism also appeals to man as man. It seeks to liberate the universal qualities of human nature from the narrow limitations of blood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dawson/for-humanism-also-appeals-to-man-as-man-it-seeks-to-liberate-the/) [Christopher Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dawson/) > [This freedom of political discussion on the highest level is something which Western civilization has in common with that of classical antiquity, but with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dawson/this-freedom-of-political-discussion-on-the-highest-level-is/) [Christopher Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dawson/) > [The Church as a divine society possess an internal principle of life which is capable of assimilating the most diverse materials and imprinting her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dawson/the-church-as-a-divine-society-possess-an-internal-principle-of-life/) [Christopher Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dawson/) > [If man attempts to suppress the animal side of his nature by a sheer effort of conscious will, nature finds a hundred unexpected and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dawson/if-man-attempts-to-suppress-the-animal-side-of-his-nature-by-a-sheer/) [Christopher Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dawson/) [Explore all 43 Christopher Dawson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dawson/) ## More Augustine quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [ Again, I hear almost everyday from atheists who write off religion as primitive, premodern nonsense. 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But the moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-stove/people-are-mostly-sane-enough-of-course-in-the-affairs-of-common-life/) [David Stove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-stove/) > [“I have become an enigma to myself. So said Saint Augustine. And herein lies my sickness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/i-have-become-an-enigma-to-myself-so-said-saint-augustine-and-herein/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [Augustine says that we may, out of our dead sins, make stepping stones to rise to the heights of perfection. What did he mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-stalker/augustine-says-that-we-may-out-of-our-dead-sins-make-stepping-stones/) [James Stalker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-stalker/) > [St. Augustine teaches us that there is in each man a Serpent, an Eve, and an Adam. Our senses and natural propensities are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/st-augustine-teaches-us-that-there-is-in-each-man-a-serpent-an-eve/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [“St. Augustine wrote something once, something I think about often,” he said. “ ‘God triumphs on the ruins of our plans.’ And maybe that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/st-augustine-wrote-something-once-something-i-think-about-often-he/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [The earliest religious texts in the West ascribe to humankind both a prehistory and a destiny among the gods. M. David Litwa presents a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terryl-l-givens/the-earliest-religious-texts-in-the-west-ascribe-to-humankind-both-a/) [Terryl L. Givens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terryl-l-givens/) > [One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/one-has-not-only-a-legal-but-a-moral-responsibility-to-obey-just-laws/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Is it not lack of faith that leads men to fear the scrutiny of reason? If the destination is doubtful, then the path must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-woolfolk-cross/is-it-not-lack-of-faith-that-leads-men-to-fear-the-scrutiny-of-reason/) [Donna Woolfolk Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-woolfolk-cross/) > [For many years now, I have been an outspoken supporter of civil and human rights for gay and lesbian people. 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It has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-esposito/the-fact-is-that-philosophy-has-been-a-decisive-source-of-inspiration/) [Roberto Esposito](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-esposito/) [Browse all 115 Augustine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/augustine/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The moment that the state came into conflict with the higher power, the moment that it set itself up as an end in itself, it became identified with Augustine's earthly city and lost all claims to a higher sanction than the law of force and self-interest. 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