---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The ocean has the conscienceless temper…"
description: "\"The ocean has the conscienceless temper of a savage autocrat spoiled by much adulation\" — Joseph Conrad"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6b/joseph-conrad-336_adulation_the-ocean-has-the-conscienceless-temper_2432226.jpg"
---

#  The ocean has the conscienceless temper of a savage…

![“The ocean has the conscienceless temper of a savage autocrat spoiled by much adulation” quote by Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6b/joseph-conrad-336_adulation_the-ocean-has-the-conscienceless-temper_2432226.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6b/joseph-conrad-336_adulation_the-ocean-has-the-conscienceless-temper_2432226.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6b/joseph-conrad-336_adulation_the-ocean-has-the-conscienceless-temper_2432226.jpg)

> “The ocean has the conscienceless temper of a savage autocrat spoiled by much adulation”

[Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Powerful forces can become tyrannical when praised without restraint.

**In simple terms:** Adulation can corrupt power.

Key Takeaway

Question authority that is blindly praised.

Themes

power corruption admiration

Mood

skeptical analytical

Type

cautionary observational

When to use this quote

- political leadership
- corporate culture
- celebrity influence
- social media trends

Key Concepts

authoritarianism hubris psychology of praise

Questions to Reflect On

- When have you seen admiration turn into abuse?
- How do you balance respect and critical thinking?

A Different Perspective

Not all praised figures become tyrants; context matters.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Adulation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adulation/) [Ocean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ocean/) [Savages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/savages/) [Temper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/temper/)

## Related quotes

> [“When you act like a nice guy, everyone examines your motives with a microscope. When you act like a conscienceless louse, they generally take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-hamilton/when-you-act-like-a-nice-guy-everyone-examines-your-motives-with-a/)

[Donald Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-hamilton/)

> [“It is life, not the individual, that is conscienceless. The essential, therefore, is to understand the time for which one is born. He who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-spengler/it-is-life-not-the-individual-that-is-conscienceless-the-essential/)

[Oswald Spengler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-spengler/)

> [Trump's behavior is conscienceless, showing utter disregard for the safety of others, consistent irresponsibility, callousness, cynicism and disrespect of other human beings. Contempt for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-t-conway-iii/trump-s-behavior-is-conscienceless-showing-utter-disregard-for-the/)

[George T. Conway III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-t-conway-iii/)

> [... conscienceless efficiency is no match for efficiency quickened by conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-miller/conscienceless-efficiency-is-no-match-for-efficiency-quickened-by/)

[Kelly Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-miller/)

> [There is nothing in either savage or civilized history that is more utterly complete, more remorselessly sweeping than the Father of Mercy´s campaign among…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-is-nothing-in-either-savage-or-civilized-history-that-is-more/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [In the game of cricket it has always been customary to accord more adulation to batsman than to bowlers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-peebles/in-the-game-of-cricket-it-has-always-been-customary-to-accord-more/)

Ian Peebles

> [Smitten as we are with the vision of social righteousness, a God indifferent to everything but adulation, and full of partiality for his individual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/smitten-as-we-are-with-the-vision-of-social-righteousness-a-god/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

> [I savour the adulation and love I have been getting from my fans and the blessings of elders in my family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akshay-kumar/i-savour-the-adulation-and-love-i-have-been-getting-from-my-fans-and/)

[Akshay Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akshay-kumar/)

> [I believe that Jesus would have given His life for just one person. Jesus emptied Himself, He humbled Himself and He so yielded Himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-baker/i-believe-that-jesus-would-have-given-his-life-for-just-one-person/)

[Heidi Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-baker/)

> [Continuously, we have to fight to defeat the primitive tendency towards the glorification of arms, the adulation of force, born of the illusion that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/continuously-we-have-to-fight-to-defeat-the-primitive-tendency/)

[Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/)

> [That is what marks out the warrior: the knowledge that willpower and courage are not the same thing. Courage can attract fear and adulation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/that-is-what-marks-out-the-warrior-the-knowledge-that-willpower-and/)

[Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/)

> [Weirdly, there have been a lot of critics of conservatism, but very few critics of innovation. As a culture, we are deeply paranoid about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-lepore/weirdly-there-have-been-a-lot-of-critics-of-conservatism-but-very-few/)

[Jill Lepore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-lepore/)

> [I believe that it is possible for one to praise, without concern, any man after he is dead since every reason and supervision for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/i-believe-that-it-is-possible-for-one-to-praise-without-concern-any/)

[Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/)

> [“To say she is only a woman is to say a violin is a piece of wood with strings, and Dante is mere ink…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-crown/to-say-she-is-only-a-woman-is-to-say-a-violin-is-a-piece-of-wood-with/)

[Bruce Crown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-crown/)

> [Mass adulation from the multitudes does not penetrate your soul or your core.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosie-o-donnell/mass-adulation-from-the-multitudes-does-not-penetrate-your-soul-or/)

[Rosie O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosie-o-donnell/)

## More by Joseph Conrad

> [“Hunters for gold or pursuers of fame, they all had gone out on that stream, bearing the sword, and often the torch, messengers of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/hunters-for-gold-or-pursuers-of-fame-they-all-had-gone-out-on-that/)

[Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/)

> [The good author is he who contemplates without marked joy or excessive sorrow the adventures of his soul amongst criticisms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/the-good-author-is-he-who-contemplates-without-marked-joy-or/)

[Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/)

> [“Let the earth and the sea each have its own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/let-the-earth-and-the-sea-each-have-its-own/)

[Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/)

> [He hated all this, and somehow he couldn't get away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/he-hated-all-this-and-somehow-he-couldn-t-get-away/)

[Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/)

> [“A fool, what with sheer fright and fine sentiments, is always safe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/a-fool-what-with-sheer-fright-and-fine-sentiments-is-always-safe/)

[Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/)

> [“The mind of man is capable of anything-because everything is in it, all the past as well as all the future. What was there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/the-mind-of-man-is-capable-of-anything-because-everything-is-in-it/)

[Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/)

> [Few men realize that their life, the very essence of their character, their capabilities and their audacities, are only the expression of their belief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/few-men-realize-that-their-life-the-very-essence-of-their-character/)

[Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/)

> [“Perhaps on some quiet night the tremor of far-off drums, sinking, swelling, a tremor vast, faint; a sound weird, appealing, suggestive and wild -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/perhaps-on-some-quiet-night-the-tremor-of-far-off-drums-sinking/)

[Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/)

> [“All that mysterious life of the wilderness that stirs in the forest, in the jungles, in the hearts of wild men.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/all-that-mysterious-life-of-the-wilderness-that-stirs-in-the-forest/)

[Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/)

> [“The fascination of the abomination—you know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/the-fascination-of-the-abomination-you-know/)

[Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/)

> [It's only those who do nothing that make no mistakes, I suppose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/it-s-only-those-who-do-nothing-that-make-no-mistakes-i-suppose/)

[Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/)

> [“Thieving was not a sheer absurdity. It was a form of human industry, perverse indeed, but still an industry exercised in an industrious world;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/thieving-was-not-a-sheer-absurdity-it-was-a-form-of-human-industry/)

[Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/)

> [I found myself back in the sepulchral city resenting the sight of people hurrying through the streets to filch a little money from each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/i-found-myself-back-in-the-sepulchral-city-resenting-the-sight-of/)

[Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/)

> [Society was calling to its accomplished child to come, to be taken care of, to be instructed, to be judged, to be condemned; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/society-was-calling-to-its-accomplished-child-to-come-to-be-taken/)

[Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/)

> [I was constantly watching myself, my secret self, as dependent on my actions as my own personality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/i-was-constantly-watching-myself-my-secret-self-as-dependent-on-my/)

[Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/)

[Explore all 645 Joseph Conrad quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/)

## More Adulation quotes

> [Mass adulation from the multitudes does not penetrate your soul or your core.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosie-o-donnell/mass-adulation-from-the-multitudes-does-not-penetrate-your-soul-or/)

[Rosie O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosie-o-donnell/)

> [“To say she is only a woman is to say a violin is a piece of wood with strings, and Dante is mere ink…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-crown/to-say-she-is-only-a-woman-is-to-say-a-violin-is-a-piece-of-wood-with/)

[Bruce Crown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-crown/)

> [I believe that it is possible for one to praise, without concern, any man after he is dead since every reason and supervision for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/i-believe-that-it-is-possible-for-one-to-praise-without-concern-any/)

[Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/)

> [Weirdly, there have been a lot of critics of conservatism, but very few critics of innovation. As a culture, we are deeply paranoid about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-lepore/weirdly-there-have-been-a-lot-of-critics-of-conservatism-but-very-few/)

[Jill Lepore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-lepore/)

> [That is what marks out the warrior: the knowledge that willpower and courage are not the same thing. Courage can attract fear and adulation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/that-is-what-marks-out-the-warrior-the-knowledge-that-willpower-and/)

[Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/)

> [Continuously, we have to fight to defeat the primitive tendency towards the glorification of arms, the adulation of force, born of the illusion that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/continuously-we-have-to-fight-to-defeat-the-primitive-tendency/)

[Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/)

> [I believe that Jesus would have given His life for just one person. Jesus emptied Himself, He humbled Himself and He so yielded Himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-baker/i-believe-that-jesus-would-have-given-his-life-for-just-one-person/)

[Heidi Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-baker/)

> [I savour the adulation and love I have been getting from my fans and the blessings of elders in my family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akshay-kumar/i-savour-the-adulation-and-love-i-have-been-getting-from-my-fans-and/)

[Akshay Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akshay-kumar/)

> [Smitten as we are with the vision of social righteousness, a God indifferent to everything but adulation, and full of partiality for his individual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/smitten-as-we-are-with-the-vision-of-social-righteousness-a-god/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

> [In the game of cricket it has always been customary to accord more adulation to batsman than to bowlers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-peebles/in-the-game-of-cricket-it-has-always-been-customary-to-accord-more/)

Ian Peebles

> [The adulation or the superstardom is something I could leave out quite happily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-harrison/the-adulation-or-the-superstardom-is-something-i-could-leave-out/)

[George Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-harrison/)

> [The ambitious are forever followed by adulation for they receive the most pleasure from flattery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/the-ambitious-are-forever-followed-by-adulation-for-they-receive-the/)

[Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/)

> [What is the average type of a counterfeit church? A hammock, attached on one side to the cross, and, on the other, held and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-cook/what-is-the-average-type-of-a-counterfeit-church-a-hammock-attached/)

[Joseph Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-cook/)

> [Our weapons are the ironic mind against the literal: the open mind against the credulous; the courageous pursuit of truth against the fearful and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/our-weapons-are-the-ironic-mind-against-the-literal-the-open-mind/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

> [Giving consistent effort in the little things in day-to-day life leads to true greatness. Specifically, it is the thousands of little deeds and tasks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-w-hunter/giving-consistent-effort-in-the-little-things-in-day-to-day-life/)

[Howard W. Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-w-hunter/)

[Browse all 86 Adulation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adulation/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "The ocean has the conscienceless temper of a savage autocrat spoiled by much adulation",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Joseph Conrad"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/the-ocean-has-the-conscienceless-temper-of-a-savage-autocrat-spoiled/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Adulation"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/the-ocean-has-the-conscienceless-temper-of-a-savage-autocrat-spoiled/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6b/joseph-conrad-336_adulation_the-ocean-has-the-conscienceless-temper_2432226.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6b/joseph-conrad-336_adulation_the-ocean-has-the-conscienceless-temper_2432226.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6b/joseph-conrad-336_adulation_the-ocean-has-the-conscienceless-temper_2432226.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The ocean has the conscienceless temper of a savage autocrat spoiled by much adulation” — Joseph Conrad",
                "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": "Joseph Conrad",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "The ocean has the conscienceless temper...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/the-ocean-has-the-conscienceless-temper-of-a-savage-autocrat-spoiled/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/the-ocean-has-the-conscienceless-temper-of-a-savage-autocrat-spoiled/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
