--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Influence must ever be in proportion to…" description: "\"Influence must ever be in proportion to property; and it is right it should.\" — James Boswell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec6/james-boswell-7136_influence_influence-must-ever-be-in-proportion-to_1827948.jpg" --- # Influence must ever be in proportion to property; and it… ![“Influence must ever be in proportion to property; and it is right it should.” quote by James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec6/james-boswell-7136_influence_influence-must-ever-be-in-proportion-to_1827948.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec6/james-boswell-7136_influence_influence-must-ever-be-in-proportion-to_1827948.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec6/james-boswell-7136_influence_influence-must-ever-be-in-proportion-to_1827948.jpg) > “Influence must ever be in proportion to property; and it is right it should.” [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Power should match wealth; those with more resources ought to wield greater influence. **In simple terms:** Influence should be proportional to property. Key Takeaway Align influence with responsibility. Themes wealth influence justice ethics Mood critical analytical Type political ethical When to use this quote - political leadership - corporate governance - philanthropy - community activism Key Concepts political theory social hierarchy fairness Questions to Reflect On - Is influence always justified by wealth? - How to prevent disproportionate power? A Different Perspective Power can be abused regardless of wealth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Influence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/influence/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Property](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/property/) ## Related quotes > [I look in a right of property - on the right of individuals, to have and to own, for their own separate and selfish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hodgskin/i-look-in-a-right-of-property-on-the-right-of-individuals-to-have-and/) Thomas Hodgskin > [Any material element or resource which, in order to become of use or value to men, requires the application of human knowledge and effort,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/any-material-element-or-resource-which-in-order-to-become-of-use-or/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [AXIOM. — Property is the Right of Increase claimed by the Proprietor over any thing which he has stamped as his own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/axiom-property-is-the-right-of-increase-claimed-by-the-proprietor/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [Property, the right to enjoy the fruits of one's labor, the right to work, to develop, to exercise one's faculties, according to one's own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/property-the-right-to-enjoy-the-fruits-of-one-s-labor-the-right-to/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [Man has a primary property right to his person and his labor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/man-has-a-primary-property-right-to-his-person-and-his-labor/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Coincident with the right of individual property under the provisions of our Government is the right of individual property. . . . 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Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salmon-p-chase/) > [God in the beginning formed matter in solid, massy, hard, impenetrable, movable particles, of such sizes and figures, and with such other properties, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/god-in-the-beginning-formed-matter-in-solid-massy-hard-impenetrable/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) > [All Jews, however, in proportion as they are one with the leaders and rulers of their race, will oppose the influence of the supernatural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-fahey/all-jews-however-in-proportion-as-they-are-one-with-the-leaders-and/) [Denis Fahey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-fahey/) ## More by James Boswell > [Friendship, "the wine of life," should, like a well-stocked cellar, be continually renewed; and it is consolatory to think, that although we can seldom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/friendship-the-wine-of-life-should-like-a-well-stocked-cellar-be/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [Drinking is in reality an occupation which employs a considerable portion of the time of many people; and to conduct it in the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/drinking-is-in-reality-an-occupation-which-employs-a-considerable/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [“His OFELLUS in the Art of Living in London, I have heard him relate, was an Irish painter, whom he knew at Birmingham, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/his-ofellus-in-the-art-of-living-in-london-i-have-heard-him-relate/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [If a man who is born to a fortune cannot make himself easier and freer than those who are not, he gains nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/if-a-man-who-is-born-to-a-fortune-cannot-make-himself-easier-and/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [He had no settled plan of life, nor looked forward at all, but merely lived from day to day. Yet he read a great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/he-had-no-settled-plan-of-life-nor-looked-forward-at-all-but-merely/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [Nay, Sir, it was not the WINE that made your head ache, but the SENSE that I put into it' 'What, Sir! will sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/nay-sir-it-was-not-the-wine-that-made-your-head-ache-but-the-sense/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [Have a sense of piety ever on your mind, and be ever mindful that this is subject to no change, but will last you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/have-a-sense-of-piety-ever-on-your-mind-and-be-ever-mindful-that-this/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [There is indeed a strange prejudice against Quotation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/there-is-indeed-a-strange-prejudice-against-quotation/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [We must take our friends as they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/we-must-take-our-friends-as-they-are/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [ \[A\]s a lady adjusts her dress before a mirror, a man adjusts his character by looking at his journal. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/a-s-a-lady-adjusts-her-dress-before-a-mirror-a-man-adjusts-his/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [We had some port, and drank damnation to the play and eternal remorse to the author.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/we-had-some-port-and-drank-damnation-to-the-play-and-eternal-remorse/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [I find I journalize too tediously. Let me try to abbreviate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/i-find-i-journalize-too-tediously-let-me-try-to-abbreviate/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [ In comparing these two writers, he \[Samuel Johnson\] used this expression: "that there was as great a difference between them as between a man… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/in-comparing-these-two-writers-he-samuel-johnson-used-this-expression/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [I make it a kind of pious rule to go to every funeral to which I am invited, both as I wish to pay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/i-make-it-a-kind-of-pious-rule-to-go-to-every-funeral-to-which-i-am/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [All censure of a man's self is oblique praise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/all-censure-of-a-man-s-self-is-oblique-praise/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) [Explore all 94 James Boswell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) ## More Influence quotes > [My coach, Robert Allen, helped me a lot. He had more influence on my growth as a player than anyone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lamarcus-aldridge/my-coach-robert-allen-helped-me-a-lot-he-had-more-influence-on-my/) [LaMarcus Aldridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lamarcus-aldridge/) > [Life is not about how much you have but how much you have affect others life positively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-not-about-how-much-you-have-but-how-much-you-have-affect/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [DECIDE, v.i. To succumb to the preponderance of one set of influences over another set.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/decide-v-i-to-succumb-to-the-preponderance-of-one-set-of-influences/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I really like a lot of American country stuff, so my music has that influence, but I don't like to be set within a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade-bird/i-really-like-a-lot-of-american-country-stuff-so-my-music-has-that/) [Jade Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade-bird/) > [Words can only have an effect on you if you choose to listen to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernajoy-vaal/words-can-only-have-an-effect-on-you-if-you-choose-to-listen-to-them/) [Bernajoy Vaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernajoy-vaal/) > [Treason implies responsibility for something, control over something, influence upon something, knowledge of something. Treason in our time is a proof of genius. Why,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/treason-implies-responsibility-for-something-control-over-something/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [... a fellow can't predict what he will pick up in the form of influence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/a-fellow-can-t-predict-what-he-will-pick-up-in-the-form-of-influence/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [We believe a scientist because he can substantiate his remarks, not because he is eloquent and forcible in his enunciation. In fact, we distrust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i-a-richards/we-believe-a-scientist-because-he-can-substantiate-his-remarks-not/) [I. A. Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/i-a-richards/) > [It seemed to me that the human beings I met reacted pretty much the same to the same stimuli. Different idioms,yes. Circumstances and conditions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zora-neale-hurston/it-seemed-to-me-that-the-human-beings-i-met-reacted-pretty-much-the/) [Zora Neale Hurston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zora-neale-hurston/) > [Every man is a missionary, now and forever, for good or for evil, whether he intends or designs it or not. He may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/every-man-is-a-missionary-now-and-forever-for-good-or-for-evil/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [My influences are jazz, blues, European classical music; they are rock music and pop music. So many kinds of music. World music from different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rokia-traore/my-influences-are-jazz-blues-european-classical-music-they-are-rock/) [Rokia Traore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rokia-traore/) > [Influences come from everywhere. 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