--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Who does not know that kings and rulers…" description: "\"Who does not know that kings and rulers sprang from men who were ignorant of God, who assumed because of blind greed and intolerable presumption to mak..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/918/pope-gregory-vii-57648_blind_who-does-not-know-that-kings-and-rulers_17249.png" --- # Who does not know that kings and rulers sprang from men… ![“Who does not know that kings and rulers sprang from men who were ignorant of God, who assumed because of blind greed and intolerable presumption to make themselves masters of other men, their equals, by means of pride, violence, bad faith, murder, and almost every other kind of crime? Surely the…” quote by Pope Gregory VII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/918/pope-gregory-vii-57648_blind_who-does-not-know-that-kings-and-rulers_17249.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/918/pope-gregory-vii-57648_blind_who-does-not-know-that-kings-and-rulers_17249.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/918/pope-gregory-vii-57648_blind_who-does-not-know-that-kings-and-rulers_17249.png) > “Who does not know that kings and rulers sprang from men who were ignorant of God, who assumed because of blind greed and intolerable presumption to make themselves masters of other men, their equals, by means of pride, violence, bad faith, murder, and almost every other kind of crime? Surely the devil drove them on.” [Pope Gregory VII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-gregory-vii/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote condemns the rise of tyrannical leaders who, ignorant of divine morality, pursue power through oppression and violence, attributing their actions to demonic influence. **In simple terms:** Power corrupts when divorced from moral guidance. Key Takeaway Authority without humility breeds tyranny. Themes Power Morality Corruption Religion Human Nature Mood Solemn Critical Reflective Type Political Theological Philosophical When to use this quote - Historical analysis of monarchies - Political theory debates - Ethical leadership training - Theological studies - Social justice activism Key Concepts Divine Justice Political Legitimacy Ethical Governance Human Hubris Practical Applications - Critiquing authoritarian regimes - Teaching moral philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What safeguards can prevent power from becoming oppressive? - How does belief in a higher moral order influence governance? A Different Perspective Some argue that not all rulers are inherently evil; many seek to serve their people responsibly. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blind/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Devil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devil/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [God Assumed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-assumed-385891/) [Greed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greed/) [Ignorant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorant/) [Ignorant God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorant-god-385889/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Kings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kings/) [Know Kings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-kings-385892/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Masters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/masters/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Men Ignorant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-ignorant-385890/) [Murder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/murder/) [Presumption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/presumption/) [Pride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pride/) [Rulers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rulers/) [Rulers Sprang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rulers-sprang-385893/) [Violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violence/) ## Related quotes > [If you are ignorant of God's Word, you will always be ignorant of God's will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/if-you-are-ignorant-of-god-s-word-you-will-always-be-ignorant-of-god/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [I happen to be a Christian. I was brought up and drenched in that. I am very orthodox in thinking that Jesus acted in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huston-smith/i-happen-to-be-a-christian-i-was-brought-up-and-drenched-in-that-i-am/) [Huston Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huston-smith/) > [I am very orthodox in thinking that Jesus acted in his life the way God would have acted if God had assumed human form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huston-smith/i-am-very-orthodox-in-thinking-that-jesus-acted-in-his-life-the-way/) [Huston Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huston-smith/) > [“Ollie though how her daddy once said sometimes people do things out of ignorance more than meanness. That's what Ollie took this woman to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-hilmo/ollie-though-how-her-daddy-once-said-sometimes-people-do-things-out/) [Tess Hilmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-hilmo/) > [I am the very model of a modern Major-General, I've information vegetable, animal, and mineral, I know the kings of England, and I quote…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-gilbert/i-am-the-very-model-of-a-modern-major-general-i-ve-information/) [W. S. Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-gilbert/) > [I got a king-sized bed. I don't know any kings, but if one came over, I guess he'd be comfortable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/i-got-a-king-sized-bed-i-don-t-know-any-kings-but-if-one-came-over-i/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [Without you, without your onslaughts, without your uprootings of us, we should remain all our lives inert, stagnant, puerile, ignorant both of ourselves and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/without-you-without-your-onslaughts-without-your-uprootings-of-us-we/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [As I look around on Sunday morning at the people populating the pews, I see the risk that God has assumed. For whatever reason,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-yancey/as-i-look-around-on-sunday-morning-at-the-people-populating-the-pews/) [Philip Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-yancey/) > [If you follow me on social media, you may know that I am an L.A. Kings fan. I'm not kuh-ray-zee, but I am definitely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/retta/if-you-follow-me-on-social-media-you-may-know-that-i-am-an-l-a-kings/) [Retta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/retta/) > [Herein lies the tragedy of the age: Not that men are poor, - all men know something of poverty. Not that men are wicked,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/herein-lies-the-tragedy-of-the-age-not-that-men-are-poor-all-men-know/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All men are ignorant, just on different subjects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/all-men-are-ignorant-just-on-different-subjects/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [And some men are as ignorant of what they do when awake as they are forgetful of what they do when asleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heraclitus/and-some-men-are-as-ignorant-of-what-they-do-when-awake-as-they-are/) [Heraclitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heraclitus/) > [Men ignorant of letters, studious for their bellies, and ignominiously lazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sandys/men-ignorant-of-letters-studious-for-their-bellies-and-ignominiously/) [George Sandys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sandys/) > [“All men are ignorant, Aes Sedai. The topics of our ignorance may change, but the nature of the world is that no man may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jordan/all-men-are-ignorant-aes-sedai-the-topics-of-our-ignorance-may-change/) [Robert Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jordan/) > [“There is nothing so difficult as to persuade men that they are ignorant. Bertha, exaggerating the seriousness of the affair, thought it charlatanry to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/there-is-nothing-so-difficult-as-to-persuade-men-that-they-are/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## More by Pope Gregory VII > [For if we are bidden to honor carnal fathers and mothers, how much more the spiritual? ... If this virtue of charity has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-gregory-vii/for-if-we-are-bidden-to-honor-carnal-fathers-and-mothers-how-much/) [Pope Gregory VII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-gregory-vii/) > [I have loved justice and hated iniquity: therefore I die in exile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-gregory-vii/i-have-loved-justice-and-hated-iniquity-therefore-i-die-in-exile/) [Pope Gregory VII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-gregory-vii/) > [ I have loved justice and hated inequity; and therefore I die in exile. \[Lat., Dilexi justitiam et odi iniquitatem, propterea morior in exilio.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-gregory-vii/i-have-loved-justice-and-hated-inequity-and-therefore-i-die-in-exile/) [Pope Gregory VII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-gregory-vii/) > [It is the custom of the Roman Church which I unworthily serve with the help of God, to tolerate some things, to turn a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-gregory-vii/it-is-the-custom-of-the-roman-church-which-i-unworthily-serve-with/) [Pope Gregory VII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-gregory-vii/) > [That it has pleased God to make Holy Scripture obscure in certain places lest, if it were perfectly clear to all, it might be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-gregory-vii/that-it-has-pleased-god-to-make-holy-scripture-obscure-in-certain/) [Pope Gregory VII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-gregory-vii/) [Explore all 6 Pope Gregory VII quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-gregory-vii/) ## More Blind quotes > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [Love is so blind, it feels right when it's wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beyonce-knowles/love-is-so-blind-it-feels-right-when-it-s-wrong/) [Beyonce Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beyonce-knowles/) > [... Arthur Gride, whose bleared eyes gloated only over the outward beauties, and were blind to the spirit which reigned within, evinced - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/arthur-gride-whose-bleared-eyes-gloated-only-over-the-outward/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“A man who saw has turned blind, A hearer deaf, A leader now leads astray!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-lichtheim/a-man-who-saw-has-turned-blind-a-hearer-deaf-a-leader-now-leads-astray/) [Miriam Lichtheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-lichtheim/) > [“What I shall feel to-morrow I cannot tell. Maybe I shall go blind again, for women are never two days alike in their minds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-parker/what-i-shall-feel-to-morrow-i-cannot-tell-maybe-i-shall-go-blind/) [Gilbert Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-parker/) > [Now the stage today is to know that Self Realization gives you experiences and then your faith is established. Not blind but open enlightened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/now-the-stage-today-is-to-know-that-self-realization-gives-you/) [Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/) > [The more I produce, the less I am certain. On the road along which the artist walks, night falls ever more densely. Finally, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-more-i-produce-the-less-i-am-certain-on-the-road-along-which-the/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“The heart’s blind. It’s the head that causes all the trouble. Sometimes both are stupid.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-bromberg/the-heart-s-blind-it-s-the-head-that-causes-all-the-trouble-sometimes/) [K. Bromberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-bromberg/) > [“In the story of the blind men and the elephant, what’s usually ignored is the fact that each man’s description was correct. What Faye…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-hill/in-the-story-of-the-blind-men-and-the-elephant-what-s-usually-ignored/) [Nathan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-hill/) > [My favorite performance would definitely be "Toxic," which was my blind audition song. It was the start of it all and it was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-martinez/my-favorite-performance-would-definitely-be-toxic-which-was-my-blind/) [Melanie Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-martinez/) > [Our attitude towards evil must be freed from hatred, and has itself need to be enlightened in character...Satan rejoices when he succeeds in inspiring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-berdyaev/our-attitude-towards-evil-must-be-freed-from-hatred-and-has-itself/) [Nikolai Berdyaev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-berdyaev/) > [If you are the master be sometimes blind, if you are the servant be sometimes deaf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-buckminster-fuller/if-you-are-the-master-be-sometimes-blind-if-you-are-the-servant-be/) [R. Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/) > [I'm glad I'm blind and can't see it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-wonder/i-m-glad-i-m-blind-and-can-t-see-it/) [Stevie Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-wonder/) > [Shut your eyes and you will know what I mean by thought entombed in darkness. Light comes through the senses, and not only through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/shut-your-eyes-and-you-will-know-what-i-mean-by-thought-entombed-in/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [Blind with love, my daughter has cried nightly for horses, those long-necked marchers and churners that she has mastered, any and all, reigning them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/blind-with-love-my-daughter-has-cried-nightly-for-horses-those-long/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) [Browse all 3,877 Blind quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blind/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Who does not know that kings and rulers sprang from men who were ignorant of God, who assumed because of blind greed and intolerable presumption to make themselves masters of other men, their equals, by means of pride, violence, bad faith, murder, and almost every other kind of crime? 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