--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For this is the true strength of guilty…" description: "\"For this is the true strength of guilty kings, When they corrupt the souls of those they rule.\" — Matthew Arnold" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6db/matthew-arnold-1235_guilty_for-this-is-the-true-strength-of-guilty_2593175.jpg" --- # For this is the true strength of guilty kings, When they… ![“For this is the true strength of guilty kings, When they corrupt the souls of those they rule.” quote by Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6db/matthew-arnold-1235_guilty_for-this-is-the-true-strength-of-guilty_2593175.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6db/matthew-arnold-1235_guilty_for-this-is-the-true-strength-of-guilty_2593175.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6db/matthew-arnold-1235_guilty_for-this-is-the-true-strength-of-guilty_2593175.jpg) > “For this is the true strength of guilty kings, When they corrupt the souls of those they rule.” [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Guilty leaders corrupt those they govern, revealing their true power. **In simple terms:** Bad leaders poison their subjects. Key Takeaway Resist corrupt authority and protect integrity. Themes power corruption leadership morality Mood cautionary thought‑provoking Type philosophical political When to use this quote - government - workplace - community groups Key Concepts political theory ethics Questions to Reflect On - How do you recognize corrupt influence? - What can you do to uphold integrity? A Different Perspective Power can be resisted through collective action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Guilty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guilty/) [Kings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kings/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Strength](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strength/) [True strength](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-strength/) ## Related quotes > [Men of great spirit are at high risk at a time when small souls rule the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-silverberg/men-of-great-spirit-are-at-high-risk-at-a-time-when-small-souls-rule/) [Robert Silverberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-silverberg/) > [For some reason mankind believes to love makes you weak, to love makes you vulnerable. And to hate makes you strong, to hate will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-cowell/for-some-reason-mankind-believes-to-love-makes-you-weak-to-love-makes/) [Larry Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-cowell/) > [True strength is doing what you know is right when you really don't want to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-joseph/true-strength-is-doing-what-you-know-is-right-when-you-really-don-t/) [Jesse Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-joseph/) > [True strength lies in submission which permits one to dedicate his life, through devotion, to something beyond himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/true-strength-lies-in-submission-which-permits-one-to-dedicate-his/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“The White House is a character crucible," according to Bertram S. 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The harshness that we receive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-joybell-c/the-kindness-that-we-receive-from-others-in-life-is-also-the-kindness/) [C. JoyBell C](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-joybell-c/) ## More by Matthew Arnold > [Culture looks beyond machinery, culture hates hatred; culture has one great passion, the passion for sweetness and light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/culture-looks-beyond-machinery-culture-hates-hatred-culture-has-one/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [We must hold fast to the austere but true doctrine as to what really governs politics and saves or destroys states. Having in mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/we-must-hold-fast-to-the-austere-but-true-doctrine-as-to-what-really/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [“Culture is the endeavour to know the best and to make this knowledge prevail for the good of all humankind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/culture-is-the-endeavour-to-know-the-best-and-to-make-this-knowledge/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [The difference between genuine poetry and the poetry of Dryden, Pope, and all their school, is briefly this: their poetry is conceived and composed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/the-difference-between-genuine-poetry-and-the-poetry-of-dryden-pope/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [Culture, the acquainting ourselves with the best that has been known and said in the world, and thus with the history of the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/culture-the-acquainting-ourselves-with-the-best-that-has-been-known/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [Strew on her roses, roses, And never a spray of yew! In quiet she reposes; Ah, would that I did too!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/strew-on-her-roses-roses-and-never-a-spray-of-yew-in-quiet-she/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [Nature, with equal mind, Sees all her sons at play, Sees man control the wind, The wind sweep man away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/nature-with-equal-mind-sees-all-her-sons-at-play-sees-man-control-the/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [Six years-six little years-six drops of time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/six-years-six-little-years-six-drops-of-time/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [Let the long contention cease! / Geese are swans, and swans are geese.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/let-the-long-contention-cease-geese-are-swans-and-swans-are-geese/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [It is almost impossible to exaggerate the proneness of the human mind to take miracles as evidence, and to seek for miracles as evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/it-is-almost-impossible-to-exaggerate-the-proneness-of-the-human-mind/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [Religion is ethics heightened, enkindled, lit up by feeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/religion-is-ethics-heightened-enkindled-lit-up-by-feeling/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [Genius is mainly an affair of energy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/genius-is-mainly-an-affair-of-energy/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [Culture is both an intellectual phenomenon and a moral one](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/culture-is-both-an-intellectual-phenomenon-and-a-moral-one/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [English civilization the humanizing, the bringing into one harmonious and truly humane life, of the whole body of English society that is what interests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/english-civilization-the-humanizing-the-bringing-into-one-harmonious/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [“Wandering between two worlds, one dead The other powerless to be born, With nowhere yet to rest my head Like these, on earth I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/wandering-between-two-worlds-one-dead-the-other-powerless-to-be-born/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) [Explore all 267 Matthew Arnold quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) ## More Guilty quotes > [Sam reached his hand toward mine and I automatically put my fingers in his. With a guilty little smile he pulled my hand toward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/sam-reached-his-hand-toward-mine-and-i-automatically-put-my-fingers/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [Never underestimate a man's ability to make you feel guilty for his mistakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rihanna/never-underestimate-a-man-s-ability-to-make-you-feel-guilty-for-his/) [Rihanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rihanna/) > [Under every guilty secret there is hidden a brood of guilty wishes, whose unwholesome infecting life is cherished by the darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/under-every-guilty-secret-there-is-hidden-a-brood-of-guilty-wishes/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [All of us, whether guilty or not, whether old or young, must accept the past. It is not a case of coming to terms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-von-weizsaecker/all-of-us-whether-guilty-or-not-whether-old-or-young-must-accept-the/) [Richard von Weizsaecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-von-weizsaecker/) > [You were never created to live depressed, defeated, guilty, condemned, ashamed or unworthy. You were created to be victorious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/you-were-never-created-to-live-depressed-defeated-guilty-condemned/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [A criminal trial is never about seeking justice for the victim. If it were, there could be only one verdict: guilty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/a-criminal-trial-is-never-about-seeking-justice-for-the-victim-if-it/) [Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/) > [Failure in the theater is more dramatic and uglier than any other form of writing. It costs so much, you feel so guilty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/failure-in-the-theater-is-more-dramatic-and-uglier-than-any-other/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [The truly just is he who feels half guilty of your misdeeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/the-truly-just-is-he-who-feels-half-guilty-of-your-misdeeds/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [My parents were very supportive of my chess. When I got home after a game of chess, having missed school or something, they always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viswanathan-anand/my-parents-were-very-supportive-of-my-chess-when-i-got-home-after-a/) [Viswanathan Anand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viswanathan-anand/) > [When youre a stay-at-home mother you have to pretend its really boring, but its not. Its enriching and fulfilling, and an amazing experience. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-poehler/when-youre-a-stay-at-home-mother-you-have-to-pretend-its-really/) [Amy Poehler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-poehler/) > [We Muslims believe that the white race, which is guilty of having oppressed and exploited and enslaved our people here in America, should and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/we-muslims-believe-that-the-white-race-which-is-guilty-of-having/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Buddhist words such as compassion and emptiness don't mean much until we start cultivating our innate ability simply to be there with pain with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/buddhist-words-such-as-compassion-and-emptiness-don-t-mean-much-until/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [LIVING WITH A GUILTY HEART,IS LIFE WITHOUT THE BAR'S.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicia-washington/living-with-a-guilty-heart-is-life-without-the-bar-s/) Felicia Washington > [It's one thing for a person to live his life as a vacuous shell without fully comprehending the extent of his transgressions, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tarek-saab/it-s-one-thing-for-a-person-to-live-his-life-as-a-vacuous-shell/) [Tarek Saab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tarek-saab/) > [Charity is the filthiest invention of the human mind: first you steal what belongs to everyone; then you use the law and various other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/u-g-krishnamurti/charity-is-the-filthiest-invention-of-the-human-mind-first-you-steal/) [U.G. Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/u-g-krishnamurti/) [Browse all 1,985 Guilty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guilty/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For this is the true strength of guilty kings, When they corrupt the souls of those they rule.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Matthew Arnold" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/for-this-is-the-true-strength-of-guilty-kings-when-they-corrupt-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Guilty" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/for-this-is-the-true-strength-of-guilty-kings-when-they-corrupt-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6db/matthew-arnold-1235_guilty_for-this-is-the-true-strength-of-guilty_2593175.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6db/matthew-arnold-1235_guilty_for-this-is-the-true-strength-of-guilty_2593175.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6db/matthew-arnold-1235_guilty_for-this-is-the-true-strength-of-guilty_2593175.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For this is the true strength of guilty kings, When they corrupt the souls of those they rule.” — Matthew Arnold", "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": "Matthew Arnold", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "For this is the true strength...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/for-this-is-the-true-strength-of-guilty-kings-when-they-corrupt-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/for-this-is-the-true-strength-of-guilty-kings-when-they-corrupt-the/#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 } } ] } ```