--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To get power over is to defile. To…" description: "\"To get power over is to defile. To possess is to defile.\" — Simone Weil" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e9/simone-weil-544_defile_to-get-power-over-is-to-defile-to-posses_2620459.jpg" --- # To get power over is to defile. To possess is to defile. ![“To get power over is to defile. To possess is to defile.” quote by Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e9/simone-weil-544_defile_to-get-power-over-is-to-defile-to-posses_2620459.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e9/simone-weil-544_defile_to-get-power-over-is-to-defile-to-posses_2620459.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e9/simone-weil-544_defile_to-get-power-over-is-to-defile-to-posses_2620459.jpg) > “To get power over is to defile. To possess is to defile.” [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Exerting power or ownership over others inherently corrupts and degrades moral integrity. **In simple terms:** Power corrupts; ownership defiles. Key Takeaway Avoid domination. Themes ethics power dynamics morality human dignity Mood serious reflective ethical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - leadership - personal relationships - policy making Key Concepts philosophy social justice Questions to Reflect On - How do you wield authority responsibly? - Can ownership ever be pure? A Different Perspective Power can be necessary for order. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) ## Related quotes > [“The curse of men can't make me defiled. I defile myself if I curse men by intention.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/the-curse-of-men-can-t-make-me-defiled-i-defile-myself-if-i-curse-men/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [I have not yet begun to defile myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doc-holliday/i-have-not-yet-begun-to-defile-myself/) [Doc Holliday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doc-holliday/) > [“Do not defile your body.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/do-not-defile-your-body/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Nonsense, I have not yet begun to defile myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doc-holliday/nonsense-i-have-not-yet-begun-to-defile-myself/) [Doc Holliday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doc-holliday/) > [“Why defile your body with a drink?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/why-defile-your-body-with-a-drink/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“Innocence could be lost more than once after all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/selena-kitt/innocence-could-be-lost-more-than-once-after-all/) [Selena Kitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/selena-kitt/) > [“To defile your body is to quench the Holy Spirit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/to-defile-your-body-is-to-quench-the-holy-spirit/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [If we go down into ourselves, we find that we possess exactly what we desire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/if-we-go-down-into-ourselves-we-find-that-we-possess-exactly-what-we/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [We only possess what we renounce; what we do not renounce escapes from us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/we-only-possess-what-we-renounce-what-we-do-not-renounce-escapes-from/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [We possess nothing in the world - a mere chance can strip us of everything - except the power to say 'I.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/we-possess-nothing-in-the-world-a-mere-chance-can-strip-us-of/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [You cannot impart what you do not possess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-g-hendricks/you-cannot-impart-what-you-do-not-possess/) [Howard G. 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Everything that is less than the universe is subjected to suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/one-should-identify-oneself-with-the-universe-itself-everything-that/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [In a general way, the literature of the twentieth century is essentially psychological; and psychology consists of describing states of the soul by displaying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/in-a-general-way-the-literature-of-the-twentieth-century-is/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [What a country calls its vital economic interests are not the things which enable its citizens to live, but the things which enable it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/what-a-country-calls-its-vital-economic-interests-are-not-the-things/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [The intelligent man who is proud of his intelligence is like the condemned man who is proud of his large cell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/the-intelligent-man-who-is-proud-of-his-intelligence-is-like-the/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [The highest ecstasy is the attention at its fullest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/the-highest-ecstasy-is-the-attention-at-its-fullest/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [To be innocent is to bear the weight of the entire universe. 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I defile myself if I curse men by intention.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/the-curse-of-men-can-t-make-me-defiled-i-defile-myself-if-i-curse-men/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) Browse all 8 Defile quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To get power over is to defile. 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