--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For power, you know, is a fretful thing…" description: "\"“For power, you know, is a fretful thing, and hath its wings always spread for flight.”\" — Lew Wallace" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11f/lew-wallace-10516_power_for-power-you-know-is-a-fretful-thing-an_294212.jpg" --- # For power, you know, is a fretful thing, and hath its… ![“For power, you know, is a fretful thing, and hath its wings always spread for flight.” quote by Lew Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11f/lew-wallace-10516_power_for-power-you-know-is-a-fretful-thing-an_294212.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11f/lew-wallace-10516_power_for-power-you-know-is-a-fretful-thing-an_294212.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11f/lew-wallace-10516_power_for-power-you-know-is-a-fretful-thing-an_294212.jpg) > ““For power, you know, is a fretful thing, and hath its wings always spread for flight.”” [Lew Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lew-wallace/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Power is restless and always seeks expansion, like wings ready to fly. **In simple terms:** Power constantly seeks expansion. Key Takeaway Beware unchecked ambition. Themes authority restlessness expansion Mood cautionary reflective Type philosophical warning When to use this quote - leadership decisions - political campaigns - personal ambition Key Concepts political power human desire Questions to Reflect On - How do you keep power in check? - What limits should be set on ambition? 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When God walks the earth, his steps are often centuries apart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lew-wallace/what-children-we-are-even-the-wisest-when-god-walks-the-earth-his/) [Lew Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lew-wallace/) > [“From the depths of the well I had discovered a light above, and yearned to go up and see what all it shone upon.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lew-wallace/from-the-depths-of-the-well-i-had-discovered-a-light-above-and/) [Lew Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lew-wallace/) > [“Father of all--God!--what we have here is of thee; take our thanks and bless us, that we may continue to do thy will.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lew-wallace/father-of-all-god-what-we-have-here-is-of-thee-take-our-thanks-and/) [Lew Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lew-wallace/) > [“The enemy of man is man, my brother.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lew-wallace/the-enemy-of-man-is-man-my-brother/) [Lew Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lew-wallace/) > [“I would have had to kill him, and Death, you know, keeps secrets better even than a guilty Roman.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lew-wallace/i-would-have-had-to-kill-him-and-death-you-know-keeps-secrets-better/) [Lew Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lew-wallace/) > [“He was angry; not as the irritable, from chafing of a trifle; nor was his anger like the fool's, pumped from the wells of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lew-wallace/he-was-angry-not-as-the-irritable-from-chafing-of-a-trifle-nor-was/) [Lew Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lew-wallace/) > [“In every four there is one the slowest, and one the swiftest; and while the race is always to the slowest, the trouble is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lew-wallace/in-every-four-there-is-one-the-slowest-and-one-the-swiftest-and-while/) [Lew Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lew-wallace/) [Explore all 65 Lew Wallace quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lew-wallace/) ## More Power quotes > [We have to get control of our borders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-coffman/we-have-to-get-control-of-our-borders/) [Mike Coffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-coffman/) > [For us who are now in power, we need to be challenged to serve the people and ignore our own egos and personal interests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangari-maathai/for-us-who-are-now-in-power-we-need-to-be-challenged-to-serve-the/) [Wangari Maathai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangari-maathai/) > [Your world will change whether or not you choose to change, but you have the power to choose it's direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/your-world-will-change-whether-or-not-you-choose-to-change-but-you/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [I want the municipality to be a helping hand to the man with a desire of sympathy, to help the fallen when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burns/i-want-the-municipality-to-be-a-helping-hand-to-the-man-with-a-desire/) [John Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burns/) > [You can draw power from everything in your life. 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I want to entertain, but I also want to say something to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-prince-bythewood/movies-have-power-power-to-impact-society-and-the-choices-we-make-i/) [Gina Prince-Bythewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-prince-bythewood/) > [Next to the assumption of power was the responsibility of relinquishing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/next-to-the-assumption-of-power-was-the-responsibility-of/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/do-not-pray-for-tasks-equal-to-your-powers-pray-for-powers-equal-to/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [With every product, the delta between the brand and the reality determines its power over the minds of consumers, and with Trump, that delta…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-wilson/with-every-product-the-delta-between-the-brand-and-the-reality/) [Rick Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-wilson/) > [If you have everything under control, you're not moving fast enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-andretti/if-you-have-everything-under-control-you-re-not-moving-fast-enough/) [Mario Andretti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-andretti/) > [“The power of imagination is strongest in the place of solitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-power-of-imagination-is-strongest-in-the-place-of-solitude/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [“Action is a powerful thing. When you smile through your sadness, it can completely change your outlook. Try it! Smile :) Now hold onto…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leticia-rae/action-is-a-powerful-thing-when-you-smile-through-your-sadness-it-can/) [Leticia Rae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leticia-rae/) > [Politics is about power. It is about the power of the state. It is about the power of the state as applied to individuals,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-rudd/politics-is-about-power-it-is-about-the-power-of-the-state-it-is/) [Kevin Rudd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-rudd/) [Browse all 17,893 Power quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“For power, you know, is a fretful thing, and hath its wings always spread for flight.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lew Wallace" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lew-wallace/for-power-you-know-is-a-fretful-thing-and-hath-its-wings-always/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Power" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lew-wallace/for-power-you-know-is-a-fretful-thing-and-hath-its-wings-always/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11f/lew-wallace-10516_power_for-power-you-know-is-a-fretful-thing-an_294212.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11f/lew-wallace-10516_power_for-power-you-know-is-a-fretful-thing-an_294212.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11f/lew-wallace-10516_power_for-power-you-know-is-a-fretful-thing-an_294212.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For power, you know, is a fretful thing, and hath its wings always spread for flight.” — Lew Wallace", "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": "Lew Wallace", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lew-wallace/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“For power, you know, is a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lew-wallace/for-power-you-know-is-a-fretful-thing-and-hath-its-wings-always/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lew-wallace/for-power-you-know-is-a-fretful-thing-and-hath-its-wings-always/#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 } } ] } ```