--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But, is it possible for princes and…" description: "\"But, is it possible for princes and ministers to be enlightened, when private individuals are not so?\" — Jean-Baptiste Say" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da3/jean-baptiste-say-9216_enlightened_but-is-it-possible-for-princes-and-minis_405974.jpg" --- # But, is it possible for princes and ministers to be… ![“But, is it possible for princes and ministers to be enlightened, when private individuals are not so?” quote by Jean-Baptiste Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da3/jean-baptiste-say-9216_enlightened_but-is-it-possible-for-princes-and-minis_405974.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da3/jean-baptiste-say-9216_enlightened_but-is-it-possible-for-princes-and-minis_405974.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da3/jean-baptiste-say-9216_enlightened_but-is-it-possible-for-princes-and-minis_405974.jpg) > “But, is it possible for princes and ministers to be enlightened, when private individuals are not so?” [Jean-Baptiste Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-say/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It questions the paradox of enlightenment being reserved for the powerful while ordinary people remain ignorant. **In simple terms:** Enlightenment may be limited to elites. Key Takeaway Question the distribution of knowledge. Themes philosophy politics education Mood skeptical reflective Type critical philosophical When to use this quote - social reform - public education - leadership training Key Concepts elitism knowledge inequality Questions to Reflect On - Who decides who is worthy of enlightenment? - Can ordinary people achieve enlightenment without elite support? A Different Perspective Enlightenment also requires grassroots empowerment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Enlightened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enlightened/) [Enlightenment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enlightenment/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) ## Related quotes > [“the presumption is that the government, with rare exception, will not know anything that law-abiding citizens are doing. That is why we are called…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/the-presumption-is-that-the-government-with-rare-exception-will-not/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [The freedom of speech of private individuals includes the right to not agree, not to listen, and not to finance one's own antagonists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/the-freedom-of-speech-of-private-individuals-includes-the-right-to/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [In the end, it is because the media are driven by the power and wealth of private individuals that they turn private lives into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/in-the-end-it-is-because-the-media-are-driven-by-the-power-and-wealth/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [All of us, whether public figures or private individuals, should feel safe in our own homes and not fear surveillance from nosy neighbours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-widdecombe/all-of-us-whether-public-figures-or-private-individuals-should-feel/) [Ann Widdecombe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-widdecombe/) > [The recent inspection find in the private home of a scientist of a box of some 3,000 pages of documents, much of it relating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-blix/the-recent-inspection-find-in-the-private-home-of-a-scientist-of-a/) [Hans Blix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-blix/) > [I'd like to see the government get out of war altogether and leave the whole field to private individuals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heller/i-d-like-to-see-the-government-get-out-of-war-altogether-and-leave/) [Joseph Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heller/) > [ The way things are supposed to work is that we're supposed to know virtually everything about what they \[the government\] do: that's why they're… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/the-way-things-are-supposed-to-work-is-that-we-re-supposed-to-know/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [It is not the opinions or the vices of private individuals that are harmful to the State, but rather the behavior of public figures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/it-is-not-the-opinions-or-the-vices-of-private-individuals-that-are/) [Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/) > [Technology can also be used so that private individuals will have access to the way centralized decisions are being made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/technology-can-also-be-used-so-that-private-individuals-will-have/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [In America, no other distinction between man and man had ever been known but that of persons in office exercising powers by authority of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/in-america-no-other-distinction-between-man-and-man-had-ever-been/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [ The \[U.S.\] Constitution is a limitation on the government, not on private individuals ... it does not prescribe the conduct of private individuals, only… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/the-u-s-constitution-is-a-limitation-on-the-government-not-on-private/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [The only compensation, gained through the influence of nongovernmental organizations, consisted in slightly broadening for private individuals the possibility of access and appeal to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-cassin/the-only-compensation-gained-through-the-influence-of-nongovernmental/) [Rene Cassin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-cassin/) > [So long as governments set the example of killing their enemies, private individuals will occasionally kill theirs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/so-long-as-governments-set-the-example-of-killing-their-enemies/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [Enlightened people live in very charged states of attention, with a tremendous power circuiting through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightened-people-live-in-very-charged-states-of-attention-with-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [An enlightened awareness is within each one of us, right at this moment. This enlightened awareness is truly unborn and marvellously illuminating; and everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bankei-yotaku/an-enlightened-awareness-is-within-each-one-of-us-right-at-this/) [Bankei Yotaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bankei-yotaku/) ## More by Jean-Baptiste Say > [To the labor of man alone Smith ascribes the power of producing values. This is an error. A more exact analysis demonstrates... that all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-say/to-the-labor-of-man-alone-smith-ascribes-the-power-of-producing/) [Jean-Baptiste Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-say/) > [No human being has the faculty of originally creating matter, which is more than nature itself can do. But any one may avail himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-say/no-human-being-has-the-faculty-of-originally-creating-matter-which-is/) [Jean-Baptiste Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-say/) > [The best scheme of finance is, to spend as little as possible; and the best tax is always the lightest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-say/the-best-scheme-of-finance-is-to-spend-as-little-as-possible-and-the/) [Jean-Baptiste Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-say/) > [To have never done anything but make the eighteenth part of a pin, is a sorry account for a human being to give of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-say/to-have-never-done-anything-but-make-the-eighteenth-part-of-a-pin-is/) [Jean-Baptiste Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-say/) > [All travellers agree that protestant are both richer and more populous than catholic countries;and the reason is, because the habits of the former are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-say/all-travellers-agree-that-protestant-are-both-richer-and-more/) [Jean-Baptiste Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-say/) > [The quantity of money, which is readily parted with to obtain a thing is called its price.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-say/the-quantity-of-money-which-is-readily-parted-with-to-obtain-a-thing/) [Jean-Baptiste Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-say/) > [A science only advances with certainty, when the plan of inquiry and the object of our researches have been clearly defined; otherwise a small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-say/a-science-only-advances-with-certainty-when-the-plan-of-inquiry-and/) [Jean-Baptiste Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-say/) > [Whence it is evident that the remedy must be adapted to the particular cause of the mischief; consequently, the cause must be ascertained, before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-say/whence-it-is-evident-that-the-remedy-must-be-adapted-to-the/) [Jean-Baptiste Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-say/) > [Freedoms and apprenticeships are likewise expedients of police,not of that wholesome branch of police, whose object is the maintenance of the public and private…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-say/freedoms-and-apprenticeships-are-likewise-expedients-of-police-not-of/) [Jean-Baptiste Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-say/) > [capital cannot be more beneficially employed, then in strengthening and aiding the productive powers of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-say/capital-cannot-be-more-beneficially-employed-then-in-strengthening/) [Jean-Baptiste Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-say/) > [Capital can seldom be made productive, without undergoing several changes both of form and of place, the risk of which is always more or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-say/capital-can-seldom-be-made-productive-without-undergoing-several/) [Jean-Baptiste Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-say/) > [Nothing is more dangerous in practice, than an obstinate, unbending adherence to a system, particularly in its application to the wants and errors of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-say/nothing-is-more-dangerous-in-practice-than-an-obstinate-unbending/) [Jean-Baptiste Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-say/) > [It is doubtless very desirable, that private persons should have a correct knowledge of their personal interests; but it must be infinitely more so,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-say/it-is-doubtless-very-desirable-that-private-persons-should-have-a/) [Jean-Baptiste Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-say/) > [And let no government imagine, that, to strip them of the power of defrauding their subjects, is to deprive them of a valuable privilege.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-say/and-let-no-government-imagine-that-to-strip-them-of-the-power-of/) [Jean-Baptiste Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-say/) > [The occupation of the stock-jobber yields no new or useful product; consequently having no product of his own to give in exchange, he has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-say/the-occupation-of-the-stock-jobber-yields-no-new-or-useful-product/) [Jean-Baptiste Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-say/) [Explore all 73 Jean-Baptiste Say quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-say/) ## More Enlightened quotes > [An enlightened awareness is within each one of us, right at this moment. This enlightened awareness is truly unborn and marvellously illuminating; and everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bankei-yotaku/an-enlightened-awareness-is-within-each-one-of-us-right-at-this/) [Bankei Yotaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bankei-yotaku/) > [Enlightened people live in very charged states of attention, with a tremendous power circuiting through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightened-people-live-in-very-charged-states-of-attention-with-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Now the stage today is to know that Self Realization gives you experiences and then your faith is established. Not blind but open enlightened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/now-the-stage-today-is-to-know-that-self-realization-gives-you/) [Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/) > [ “Through the grace of a thief, one can become a thief and through the grace of a Gnani \[the enlightened one\], one can become… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/through-the-grace-of-a-thief-one-can-become-a-thief-and-through-the/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [Our attitude towards evil must be freed from hatred, and has itself need to be enlightened in character...Satan rejoices when he succeeds in inspiring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-berdyaev/our-attitude-towards-evil-must-be-freed-from-hatred-and-has-itself/) [Nikolai Berdyaev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-berdyaev/) > [I think enlightenment is something that you decide to do after you have met someone who is enlightened. Something touches your heart, your being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/i-think-enlightenment-is-something-that-you-decide-to-do-after-you/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“The more that the human mind is enlightened, the more desirous it becomes of farther acquisitions in knowledge. The”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-stewart/the-more-that-the-human-mind-is-enlightened-the-more-desirous-it/) Alexander Stewart > [The enlightened attention rejects nothing nor welcomes anything-like a mirror it responds equally to all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/the-enlightened-attention-rejects-nothing-nor-welcomes-anything-like/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) > [So too, monks, I saw the ancient path, the ancient road traveled by the Perfectly Enlightened Ones of the past. And what is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/so-too-monks-i-saw-the-ancient-path-the-ancient-road-traveled-by-the/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [We do not have to be ashamed of what we are. As sentient beings we have wonderful backgrounds. These backgrounds may not be particularly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-do-not-have-to-be-ashamed-of-what-we-are-as-sentient-beings-we/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [For I did not know that the soul needs to be enlightened by light from outside itself, so that it can participate in truth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/for-i-did-not-know-that-the-soul-needs-to-be-enlightened-by-light/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [As a child there was no place for adventure or experimentation. I guess that kind of freedom started in high school with punk rock.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mcnairy/as-a-child-there-was-no-place-for-adventure-or-experimentation-i/) [Mark McNairy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mcnairy/) > [In dealing with those who share his bed, the enlightened ruler may enjoy their beauty but should not listen to their special pleas...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/han-fei/in-dealing-with-those-who-share-his-bed-the-enlightened-ruler-may/) [Han Fei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/han-fei/) > [“Even when you have been somewhat enlightened by what you have read, you are called upon to continue the serach for significance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-j-adler/even-when-you-have-been-somewhat-enlightened-by-what-you-have-read/) [Mortimer J. Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-j-adler/) > [I want to engage people in an honest, enlightened, and provocative conversation about the nature of erotic desire and the intricacies of intimacy and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/i-want-to-engage-people-in-an-honest-enlightened-and-provocative/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) [Browse all 1,151 Enlightened quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enlightened/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "But, is it possible for princes and ministers to be enlightened, when private individuals are not so?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jean-Baptiste Say" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-say/but-is-it-possible-for-princes-and-ministers-to-be-enlightened-when/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Enlightened" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-say/but-is-it-possible-for-princes-and-ministers-to-be-enlightened-when/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da3/jean-baptiste-say-9216_enlightened_but-is-it-possible-for-princes-and-minis_405974.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da3/jean-baptiste-say-9216_enlightened_but-is-it-possible-for-princes-and-minis_405974.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da3/jean-baptiste-say-9216_enlightened_but-is-it-possible-for-princes-and-minis_405974.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But, is it possible for princes and ministers to be enlightened, when private individuals are not so?” — Jean-Baptiste Say", "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": "Jean-Baptiste Say", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-say/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "But, is it possible for princes...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-say/but-is-it-possible-for-princes-and-ministers-to-be-enlightened-when/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-say/but-is-it-possible-for-princes-and-ministers-to-be-enlightened-when/#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 } } ] } ```