--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A small amount of power corrupts a small…" description: "\"A small amount of power corrupts a small man absolutely. A little knowledge is dangerous to a little man. To a great man only great knowledge is danger..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9d/leonard-j-v-compagno-79962_amount_a-small-amount-of-power-corrupts-a-small_2807670.jpg" --- # A small amount of power corrupts a small man absolutely. A… ![“A small amount of power corrupts a small man absolutely. A little knowledge is dangerous to a little man. To a great man only great knowledge is dangerous.” quote by Leonard J. V. Compagno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9d/leonard-j-v-compagno-79962_amount_a-small-amount-of-power-corrupts-a-small_2807670.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9d/leonard-j-v-compagno-79962_amount_a-small-amount-of-power-corrupts-a-small_2807670.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9d/leonard-j-v-compagno-79962_amount_a-small-amount-of-power-corrupts-a-small_2807670.jpg) > “A small amount of power corrupts a small man absolutely. A little knowledge is dangerous to a little man. To a great man only great knowledge is dangerous.” [Leonard J. V. Compagno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-j-v-compagno/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Power magnifies personal flaws; limited power can dominate a weak individual, while great knowledge threatens only the great. **In simple terms:** Power corrupts the weak; knowledge threatens the great. Key Takeaway Beware of power and knowledge imbalances. Themes corruption knowledge human nature Mood cautious reflective Type philosophical warning When to use this quote - political leadership - personal ambition - education policy - corporate governance Key Concepts psychology ethics leadership Questions to Reflect On - How does power affect moral character? - When does knowledge become dangerous? A Different Perspective Power can be checked by accountability structures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Amount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amount/) [Corrupts Small](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corrupts-small-3497077/) [Dangerous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dangerous/) [Dangerous Little](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dangerous-little-2088361/) [Great knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-knowledge/) [Great man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-man/) [Great men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-men/) [Knowledge Dangerous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge-dangerous/) [Knowledge is dangerous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge-is-dangerous/) [Little knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little-knowledge/) [Little man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little-man/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Power corrupts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power-corrupts/) [Small amounts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/small-amounts/) [Small man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/small-man/) ## Related quotes > [A lot of knowledge can be dangerous so can a little](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-lot-of-knowledge-can-be-dangerous-so-can-a-little/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“...knowledge imprisons you. You cannot escape it. What you know you cannot unknow. That's why knowledge is dangerous. Learning will redefine your world, irreversibly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-shpancer/knowledge-imprisons-you-you-cannot-escape-it-what-you-know-you-cannot/) [Noam Shpancer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-shpancer/) > [The saying that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing is, to my mind, a very dangerous adage. If knowledge is real and genuine,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/the-saying-that-a-little-knowledge-is-a-dangerous-thing-is-to-my-mind/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [Knowledge without practice is useless. Practice without knowledge is dangerous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/knowledge-without-practice-is-useless-practice-without-knowledge-is/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Knowledge is dangerous." ~pg 53](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-ness/knowledge-is-dangerous-pg-53/) [Patrick Ness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-ness/) > [Knowledge is dangerous. Once you know something, you can't get rid of it. You have to carry it. Always.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-shannon/knowledge-is-dangerous-once-you-know-something-you-can-t-get-rid-of/) [Samantha Shannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-shannon/) > [“little knowledge is dangerous thing”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/er-teji/little-knowledge-is-dangerous-thing/) [er.teji](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/er-teji/) > [“Half-knowledge is dangerous. Full knowledge is hazardous..”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ankala-subbarao/half-knowledge-is-dangerous-full-knowledge-is-hazardous/) [Ankala Subbarao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ankala-subbarao/) > [“Knowledge is dangerous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-ness/knowledge-is-dangerous/) [Patrick Ness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-ness/) > [If a little knowledge is dangerous, where is the man who has so much as to be out of danger?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-a-little-knowledge-is-dangerous-where-is-the-man-who-has-so-much/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Knowledge is dangerous when you're a person of colour. It makes you a powerful individual, and that's what 'Stay Dangerous' represents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yg/knowledge-is-dangerous-when-you-re-a-person-of-colour-it-makes-you-a/) [YG](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yg/) > [“Liittle knowledge is dangerous. Flawed knowledge is fatal!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nandini-deka/liittle-knowledge-is-dangerous-flawed-knowledge-is-fatal/) [Nandini Deka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nandini-deka/) > [A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. So is a lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-little-knowledge-is-a-dangerous-thing-so-is-a-lot/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Knowledge is dangerous and men lie and the world changes, whether I want it to or not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-ness/knowledge-is-dangerous-and-men-lie-and-the-world-changes-whether-i/) [Patrick Ness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-ness/) > [“The freman are civil, educated and ignorant. They are not mad. They are trained to believe not to know. Believe can be manipulated. Only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/the-freman-are-civil-educated-and-ignorant-they-are-not-mad-they-are/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) ## More by Leonard J. V. Compagno > [Man should rule with computers, not vice versa.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-j-v-compagno/man-should-rule-with-computers-not-vice-versa/) [Leonard J. V. Compagno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-j-v-compagno/) > [Tools may limit the user, but the utility of tools is limited by the skill of the user.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-j-v-compagno/tools-may-limit-the-user-but-the-utility-of-tools-is-limited-by-the/) [Leonard J. V. Compagno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-j-v-compagno/) [Explore all 3 Leonard J. V. Compagno quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-j-v-compagno/) ## More Amount quotes > [Dating someone on the opposite end of the happy spectrum teaches you an incredible amount of patience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-pine/dating-someone-on-the-opposite-end-of-the-happy-spectrum-teaches-you/) [Chris Pine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-pine/) > [When the amount of change externally exceeds the amount of change internally, the end is in sight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-welch/when-the-amount-of-change-externally-exceeds-the-amount-of-change/) [Jack Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-welch/) > [A human being can only absorb a small amount of the mystical kundalini, you can be exposed again and again to it, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/a-human-being-can-only-absorb-a-small-amount-of-the-mystical/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [It's a great story for us whenever an entrepreneur makes a crazy amount of money and we get to tell the world about it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-lacy/it-s-a-great-story-for-us-whenever-an-entrepreneur-makes-a-crazy/) [Sarah Lacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-lacy/) > [It's a challenge to work a character's arc into a format in which you only have a very limited amount of time to grow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginnifer-goodwin/it-s-a-challenge-to-work-a-character-s-arc-into-a-format-in-which-you/) [Ginnifer Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginnifer-goodwin/) > [The amount of things you can do with a kettlebell is unsurpassed by any other training equipment - dumbbells, resistance machines, free weights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laird-hamilton/the-amount-of-things-you-can-do-with-a-kettlebell-is-unsurpassed-by/) [Laird Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laird-hamilton/) > [The amount you give isn't important. What matters is what that amount represents in terms of your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/the-amount-you-give-isn-t-important-what-matters-is-what-that-amount/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [There's a place in Botswana where there are 100,000 elephants living in a single population. Think of the amount of space they need. Remember,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-bergin/there-s-a-place-in-botswana-where-there-are-100-000-elephants-living/) [Patrick Bergin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-bergin/) > [How could you justify giving Holland twice the amount of money that you gave Belgium? Well, finally, I put it up to them. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-averell-harriman/how-could-you-justify-giving-holland-twice-the-amount-of-money-that/) [W. Averell Harriman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-averell-harriman/) > [I am not a great believer in dialectical struggle. I am much more of a fusion person. I see it as a dialogue, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-warner/i-am-not-a-great-believer-in-dialectical-struggle-i-am-much-more-of-a/) [Marina Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-warner/) > [The risk of developing carcinoma of the lung increases steadily as the amount smoked increases. If the risk among non-smokers is taken as unity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-doll/the-risk-of-developing-carcinoma-of-the-lung-increases-steadily-as/) [Richard Doll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-doll/) > [Both fact and logic seem to me to support the view that savings invested in privately owned economic tools of production amount to an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-a-harper/both-fact-and-logic-seem-to-me-to-support-the-view-that-savings/) [F. A. Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-a-harper/) > [You have a little bit of talent, a certain amount of good fortune and a lot of hard work in pursuit of whatever truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-sutherland/you-have-a-little-bit-of-talent-a-certain-amount-of-good-fortune-and/) [Donald Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-sutherland/) > [I have a tremendous amount of respect for military families. To have to worry about your loved ones and still try and live a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashanti/i-have-a-tremendous-amount-of-respect-for-military-families-to-have/) [Ashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashanti/) > [In sports teams, apart from talk of sporting prowess and the imparting of inspirational thought, an extraordinary amount of time is spent discussing, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harsha-bhogle/in-sports-teams-apart-from-talk-of-sporting-prowess-and-the-imparting/) [Harsha Bhogle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harsha-bhogle/) [Browse all 4,202 Amount quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amount/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A small amount of power corrupts a small man absolutely. A little knowledge is dangerous to a little man. To a great man only great knowledge is dangerous.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Leonard J. V. 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