--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The tyrant has power to play as long as…" description: "\"“The tyrant has power to play as long as he is the master in his surroundings.”\" — Nilantha Ilangamuwa" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7be/nilantha-ilangamuwa-18641_freedom_the-tyrant-has-power-to-play-as-long-as_551163.jpg" --- # The tyrant has power to play as long as he is the master… ![“The tyrant has power to play as long as he is the master in his surroundings.” quote by Nilantha Ilangamuwa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7be/nilantha-ilangamuwa-18641_freedom_the-tyrant-has-power-to-play-as-long-as_551163.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7be/nilantha-ilangamuwa-18641_freedom_the-tyrant-has-power-to-play-as-long-as_551163.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7be/nilantha-ilangamuwa-18641_freedom_the-tyrant-has-power-to-play-as-long-as_551163.jpg) > ““The tyrant has power to play as long as he is the master in his surroundings.”” [Nilantha Ilangamuwa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nilantha-ilangamuwa/) ## 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 sustained only while the ruler can dominate his environment; once that control wanes, his authority collapses. **In simple terms:** Power depends on controlling surroundings. Key Takeaway Maintain influence by shaping your environment. Themes authority control leadership Mood cautious strategic Type advisory reflective When to use this quote - business leadership - political campaigns - personal relationships - community organizing Key Concepts political theory environmental influence Questions to Reflect On - How do you ensure your influence persists when conditions change? - What safeguards can protect against loss of control? A Different Perspective Power can be challenged by external forces or internal dissent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberty/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Tyrant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tyrant/) ## Related quotes > [I have been so long master that I would be master still, or at least that none other should be master of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/i-have-been-so-long-master-that-i-would-be-master-still-or-at-least/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [Man is not by nature a tyrant, but becomes a tyrant by power conferred on him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretia-mott/man-is-not-by-nature-a-tyrant-but-becomes-a-tyrant-by-power-conferred/) [Lucretia Mott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretia-mott/) > [“The only difference between a futile madman and an effective tyrant is power and will.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheri-s-tepper/the-only-difference-between-a-futile-madman-and-an-effective-tyrant/) [Sheri S. Tepper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheri-s-tepper/) > [Still when the lust of tyrant power succeeds, some Athens perishes, or some Tully bleeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/still-when-the-lust-of-tyrant-power-succeeds-some-athens-perishes-or/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [“All it takes is common sense to understand that the Rajapaksa administration has vandalised every layer of the country’s resources to get rid of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nilantha-ilangamuwa/all-it-takes-is-common-sense-to-understand-that-the-rajapaksa/) [Nilantha Ilangamuwa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nilantha-ilangamuwa/) > [“Death is a great tyrant; none can overthrow him. Life is a priceless ruby; none can afford it. Eternity is a noble mistress; none…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/death-is-a-great-tyrant-none-can-overthrow-him-life-is-a-priceless/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [“Because if you don't know how to manage time, time can rule you like a tyrant.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-partnoy/because-if-you-don-t-know-how-to-manage-time-time-can-rule-you-like-a/) [Frank Partnoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-partnoy/) > [ \[It is a basic principle of a tyrant\] to unarm his people of weapons, money and all means whereby they resist his power. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-raleigh/it-is-a-basic-principle-of-a-tyrant-to-unarm-his-people-of-weapons/) [Walter Raleigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-raleigh/) > [Every apathetic individual is a brick in a tyrant's throne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-slater/every-apathetic-individual-is-a-brick-in-a-tyrant-s-throne/) [Philip Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-slater/) > [Love reigns a very tyrant in my heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-otway/love-reigns-a-very-tyrant-in-my-heart/) [Thomas Otway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-otway/) > [I will never, for the future, paint the portrait of a tyrant until his head lies before me on the scaffold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-louis-david/i-will-never-for-the-future-paint-the-portrait-of-a-tyrant-until-his/) [Jacques-Louis David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-louis-david/) > [The only tyrant I accept in this world is the 'still small voice' within](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/the-only-tyrant-i-accept-in-this-world-is-the-still-small-voice-within/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“The smart tyrant flatters the people with words,while with deeds he destroys them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatoli-rybakov/the-smart-tyrant-flatters-the-people-with-words-while-with-deeds-he/) [Anatoli Rybakov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatoli-rybakov/) > [Faith is not about serving some tyrant in the sky that says, 'You need to get your act together.' Faith is about having a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecrae/faith-is-not-about-serving-some-tyrant-in-the-sky-that-says-you-need/) [Lecrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecrae/) > [The tyrant has fallen, and Iraq is free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/the-tyrant-has-fallen-and-iraq-is-free/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) ## More by Nilantha Ilangamuwa > [“As things stand the "intellectuals" only come out to lick the bones left over by the tyrant.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nilantha-ilangamuwa/as-things-stand-the-intellectuals-only-come-out-to-lick-the-bones/) [Nilantha Ilangamuwa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nilantha-ilangamuwa/) > [“All it takes is common sense to understand that the Rajapaksa administration has vandalised every layer of the country’s resources to get rid of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nilantha-ilangamuwa/all-it-takes-is-common-sense-to-understand-that-the-rajapaksa/) [Nilantha Ilangamuwa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nilantha-ilangamuwa/) > [“When man lost touch with his humanity he had no reason to walk along the higher path.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nilantha-ilangamuwa/when-man-lost-touch-with-his-humanity-he-had-no-reason-to-walk-along/) [Nilantha Ilangamuwa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nilantha-ilangamuwa/) > [“If you want to denounce impunity then you have to start with denouncing the impunity that the regime enjoys.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nilantha-ilangamuwa/if-you-want-to-denounce-impunity-then-you-have-to-start-with/) [Nilantha Ilangamuwa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nilantha-ilangamuwa/) > [“Fear has become normal and is covered by the idea of “patriotism”.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nilantha-ilangamuwa/fear-has-become-normal-and-is-covered-by-the-idea-of-patriotism/) [Nilantha Ilangamuwa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nilantha-ilangamuwa/) > [“In the long run, even a tyrannical government only has the power that the people confer on it and coming to understand history is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nilantha-ilangamuwa/in-the-long-run-even-a-tyrannical-government-only-has-the-power-that/) [Nilantha Ilangamuwa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nilantha-ilangamuwa/) > [“Ladies and gentlemen, it is time for us to change the mindset which has tended to create ad hoc solutions for the political madness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nilantha-ilangamuwa/ladies-and-gentlemen-it-is-time-for-us-to-change-the-mindset-which/) [Nilantha Ilangamuwa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nilantha-ilangamuwa/) > [“True, the US Government does not have moral authority to ask for an independent investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nilantha-ilangamuwa/true-the-us-government-does-not-have-moral-authority-to-ask-for-an/) [Nilantha Ilangamuwa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nilantha-ilangamuwa/) > [“Mr. President, not only are you disastrous for the land, you are the man who must be held responsible for all the sins of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nilantha-ilangamuwa/mr-president-not-only-are-you-disastrous-for-the-land-you-are-the-man/) [Nilantha Ilangamuwa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nilantha-ilangamuwa/) > [“We once again see the painful reality of the spineless political intelligentsia”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nilantha-ilangamuwa/we-once-again-see-the-painful-reality-of-the-spineless-political/) [Nilantha Ilangamuwa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nilantha-ilangamuwa/) > [“What unified the Balochis in their quest to regain self-determination, which resulted in the ‘existing state’? 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If you do not do this, history will never absolve you!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nilantha-ilangamuwa/mr-president-give-me-back-my-country-allow-people-to-have-their/) [Nilantha Ilangamuwa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nilantha-ilangamuwa/) > [“We as human beings need freedom, and justice, and a true cause to engage in to make life meaningful. 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