--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Only those who do not seek power are…" description: "\"Only those who do not seek power are qualified to hold it.\" — Plato" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de4/plato-103_funny_only-those-who-do-not-seek-power-are-qua_2484804.jpg" --- # Only those who do not seek power are qualified to hold it. ![“Only those who do not seek power are qualified to hold it.” quote by Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de4/plato-103_funny_only-those-who-do-not-seek-power-are-qua_2484804.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de4/plato-103_funny_only-those-who-do-not-seek-power-are-qua_2484804.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de4/plato-103_funny_only-those-who-do-not-seek-power-are-qua_2484804.jpg) > “Only those who do not seek power are qualified to hold it.” [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Only those uninterested in power can wield it responsibly, implying humility is essential for leadership. **In simple terms:** Humility qualifies leaders. Key Takeaway Cultivate humility before seeking authority. Themes leadership humility ethics Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - political office - corporate governance Key Concepts political theory philosophy Questions to Reflect On - Can humility coexist with ambition? - How to ensure power is used ethically? A Different Perspective Power can corrupt even the humble. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Hold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hold/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Power Qualified](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power-qualified-902396/) [Qualified](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/qualified/) [Qualified Hold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/qualified-hold-902395/) [Seek Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seek-power-892116/) ## Related quotes > [There are no more excuses for leaving women out of the inner circles of power. Qualified women are everywhere. Women are ready for leadership;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-m-kunin/there-are-no-more-excuses-for-leaving-women-out-of-the-inner-circles/) [Madeleine M. Kunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-m-kunin/) > [Those who seek power are not worthy of that power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/those-who-seek-power-are-not-worthy-of-that-power/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [We must each walk through life on our own, but we don't have to do it alone. God wants a powerful people. He gives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheri-l-dew/we-must-each-walk-through-life-on-our-own-but-we-don-t-have-to-do-it/) [Sheri L. Dew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheri-l-dew/) > [Those who are looking to seek power must make wise judgements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reham-khan/those-who-are-looking-to-seek-power-must-make-wise-judgements/) [Reham Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reham-khan/) > [A certain number of people seek power over other people in a desperate attempt to find themselves. They fail, for self-discovery is spiritual in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-howard/a-certain-number-of-people-seek-power-over-other-people-in-a/) [Vernon Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-howard/) > [I don't seek power and do not run around](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/i-don-t-seek-power-and-do-not-run-around/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) > [Women don't seek power for its own sake, but to make a difference and overcome each challenge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-wynne/women-don-t-seek-power-for-its-own-sake-but-to-make-a-difference-and/) [Kathleen Wynne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-wynne/) > [Those who seek power at any price detect a societal weakness, a fear that they can ride into office.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/those-who-seek-power-at-any-price-detect-a-societal-weakness-a-fear-2/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Man is born to seek power, yet his actual condition makes him a slave to the power of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-morgenthau/man-is-born-to-seek-power-yet-his-actual-condition-makes-him-a-slave/) [Hans Morgenthau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-morgenthau/) > [We really can't tell the difference between people who might seek power for some greater good and people who seek power just to aggrandize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-bueno-de-mesquita/we-really-can-t-tell-the-difference-between-people-who-might-seek/) [Bruce Bueno de Mesquita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-bueno-de-mesquita/) > [Only fools seek power, and the greatest fools seek it through force.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/only-fools-seek-power-and-the-greatest-fools-seek-it-through-force/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [“Those who seek power at any price detect a societal weakness, a fear that they can ride into office. It could be ethnic differences,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/those-who-seek-power-at-any-price-detect-a-societal-weakness-a-fear/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Do not seek power for revenge. Seek power in order to avoid situations that would make you want revenge. That sounded noble. In reality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salla-simukka/do-not-seek-power-for-revenge-seek-power-in-order-to-avoid-situations-2/) [Salla Simukka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salla-simukka/) > [“Do not seek power for revenge. Seek power in order to avoid situations that would make you want revenge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salla-simukka/do-not-seek-power-for-revenge-seek-power-in-order-to-avoid-situations/) [Salla Simukka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salla-simukka/) > [“You don't seek power or popularity. You simply ask, is the thing right in itself? If it is, then I must do it, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling/you-don-t-seek-power-or-popularity-you-simply-ask-is-the-thing-right/) [J.K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling/) ## More by Plato > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [You may be sure, dear Crito, that inaccurate language is not only in itself a mistake: it implants evil in men's souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/you-may-be-sure-dear-crito-that-inaccurate-language-is-not-only-in/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“If men learn this, it will implant forgetfulness in their souls; they will cease to exercise memory because they rely on that which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/if-men-learn-this-it-will-implant-forgetfulness-in-their-souls-they/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/knowledge-which-is-acquired-under-compulsion-obtains-no-hold-on-the/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [I do not think it is permitted that a better man be harmed by a worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/i-do-not-think-it-is-permitted-that-a-better-man-be-harmed-by-a-worse/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Any city, however small, is in fact divided into two, one the city of the poor, the other of the rich; these are at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/any-city-however-small-is-in-fact-divided-into-two-one-the-city-of/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [When men speak ill of thee, live so as nobody may believe them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/when-men-speak-ill-of-thee-live-so-as-nobody-may-believe-them/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“The love of man to woman is a thing common and of course, and at first partakes more of instinct and passion than of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/the-love-of-man-to-woman-is-a-thing-common-and-of-course-and-at-first/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Strange times are these in which we live when old and young are taught in falsehood's school, and the one man that dares to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/strange-times-are-these-in-which-we-live-when-old-and-young-are/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“He was a wise man who invented God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/he-was-a-wise-man-who-invented-god/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [For let me tell you, that the more the pleasures of the body fade away, the greater to me is the pleasure and charm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/for-let-me-tell-you-that-the-more-the-pleasures-of-the-body-fade-away/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“What shall we say about those spectators, then, who can see a plurality of beautiful things, but not beauty itself, and who are incapable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/what-shall-we-say-about-those-spectators-then-who-can-see-a-plurality/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Geometry existed before creation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/geometry-existed-before-creation/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [When men speak ill of thee, live so that nobody will believe them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/when-men-speak-ill-of-thee-live-so-that-nobody-will-believe-them/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [We must, if we are to be consistent, and if we re to have a real pedigree herd, mate the best of our men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/we-must-if-we-are-to-be-consistent-and-if-we-re-to-have-a-real/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) [Explore all 1,278 Plato quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) ## More Funny quotes > [You cant be controlling in improv.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-walsh/you-cant-be-controlling-in-improv/) [Matt Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-walsh/) > [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. 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Think AS the market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-fishman/don-t-think-of-the-market-think-as-the-market/) [Michael Fishman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-fishman/) [Browse all 39,858 Funny quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Only those who do not seek power are qualified to hold it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Plato" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/only-those-who-do-not-seek-power-are-qualified-to-hold-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Funny" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/only-those-who-do-not-seek-power-are-qualified-to-hold-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de4/plato-103_funny_only-those-who-do-not-seek-power-are-qua_2484804.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de4/plato-103_funny_only-those-who-do-not-seek-power-are-qua_2484804.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de4/plato-103_funny_only-those-who-do-not-seek-power-are-qua_2484804.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Only those who do not seek power are qualified to hold it.” — Plato", "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": "Plato", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Only those who do not seek...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/only-those-who-do-not-seek-power-are-qualified-to-hold-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/only-those-who-do-not-seek-power-are-qualified-to-hold-it/#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 } } ] } ```