--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When the state is most corrupt, then the…" description: "\"When the state is most corrupt, then the laws are most multiplied.\" — Tacitus" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d46/tacitus-1552_corrupt_when-the-state-is-most-corrupt-then-the_601914.jpg" --- # When the state is most corrupt, then the laws are most… ![“When the state is most corrupt, then the laws are most multiplied.” quote by Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d46/tacitus-1552_corrupt_when-the-state-is-most-corrupt-then-the_601914.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d46/tacitus-1552_corrupt_when-the-state-is-most-corrupt-then-the_601914.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d46/tacitus-1552_corrupt_when-the-state-is-most-corrupt-then-the_601914.jpg) > “When the state is most corrupt, then the laws are most multiplied.” [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Corruption leads to excessive legislation, as authorities try to control a failing system. **In simple terms:** More corruption, more laws. Key Takeaway Beware of over‑regulation as a sign of decay. Themes politics law corruption Mood cautious critical Type historical political When to use this quote - government oversight - legal reform - public policy - civic activism Key Concepts social control institutional decay Questions to Reflect On - What does an increase in laws indicate about a society? - Can fewer laws solve deep corruption? A Different Perspective Complex problems may need more than just fewer laws. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Corruption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corruption/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Laws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laws/) ## Related quotes > [When the State is corrupt, then the laws are most multiplied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/when-the-state-is-corrupt-then-the-laws-are-most-multiplied/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [Every actual State is corrupt. Good men must not obey laws too well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/every-actual-state-is-corrupt-good-men-must-not-obey-laws-too-well/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Every actual State is corrupt. Good men must not obey the laws too well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/every-actual-state-is-corrupt-good-men-must-not-obey-the-laws-too-well/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Every actual State is corrupt. Good men must not obey the laws too well. What satire on government can equal the severity of censure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/every-actual-state-is-corrupt-good-men-must-not-obey-the-laws-too/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [When men are pure, laws are useless; when men are corrupt, laws are broken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/when-men-are-pure-laws-are-useless-when-men-are-corrupt-laws-are/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [“So long as we have a law that is exploitable by individuals in power, it is imperative that every thinking human stands up to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/so-long-as-we-have-a-law-that-is-exploitable-by-individuals-in-power/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/the-more-corrupt-the-state-the-more-numerous-the-laws/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [Laws were most numerous when the commonwealth was most corrupt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/laws-were-most-numerous-when-the-commonwealth-was-most-corrupt/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [“How can you follow a law when it's makers were corrupt?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/segun-magbagbeola/how-can-you-follow-a-law-when-it-s-makers-were-corrupt/) Segun Magbagbeola > [Jonathan is one of the most corrupt Nigerians I ever investigated while at EFCC & his level of corruption even as deputy governor is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuhu-ribadu/jonathan-is-one-of-the-most-corrupt-nigerians-i-ever-investigated/) [Nuhu Ribadu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuhu-ribadu/) > [“Pick a leader who will keep jobs in your country by offering companies incentives to hire only within their borders, not one who allows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/pick-a-leader-who-will-keep-jobs-in-your-country-by-offering/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [A corrupt practice may be abolished, but a soiled imagination is not easily cleansed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/a-corrupt-practice-may-be-abolished-but-a-soiled-imagination-is-not/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [Every government is always growing corrupt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-phillips/every-government-is-always-growing-corrupt/) [Wendell Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-phillips/) > [“It’s so easy to lose faith and become lost in all of the politics of the world. That’s why we need the arts. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/it-s-so-easy-to-lose-faith-and-become-lost-in-all-of-the-politics-of/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [Corruption hates what is not corrupt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-park/corruption-hates-what-is-not-corrupt/) Paul Park ## More by Tacitus > [Benefits received are a delight to us as long as we think we can requite them; when that possibility is far exceeded, they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/benefits-received-are-a-delight-to-us-as-long-as-we-think-we-can/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [Rumor does not always err; it sometimes even elects a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/rumor-does-not-always-err-it-sometimes-even-elects-a-man/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [ None mourn more ostentatiously than those who most rejoice at it \[a death\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/none-mourn-more-ostentatiously-than-those-who-most-rejoice-at-it-a/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [So true is it that all transactions of preeminent importance are wrapt in doubt and obscurity; while some hold for certain facts the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/so-true-is-it-that-all-transactions-of-preeminent-importance-are/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [Be assured those will be thy worst enemies, not to whom thou hast done evil, but who have done evil to thee. And those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/be-assured-those-will-be-thy-worst-enemies-not-to-whom-thou-hast-done/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [Christianity is a pestilent superstition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/christianity-is-a-pestilent-superstition/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [Indeed, the crowning proof of their valour and their strength is that they keep up their superiority without harm to others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/indeed-the-crowning-proof-of-their-valour-and-their-strength-is-that/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [Formerly we suffered from crimes; now we suffer from laws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/formerly-we-suffered-from-crimes-now-we-suffer-from-laws/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [ None mourn more ostentatiously over the death of Germanicus than those who most rejoice at it \[a death\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/none-mourn-more-ostentatiously-over-the-death-of-germanicus-than/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [Once killing starts, it is difficult to draw the line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/once-killing-starts-it-is-difficult-to-draw-the-line/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [The lust of dominion burns with a flame so fierce as to overpower all other affections of the human breast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/the-lust-of-dominion-burns-with-a-flame-so-fierce-as-to-overpower-all/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [“It is a principle of nature to hate those whom you have injured.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/it-is-a-principle-of-nature-to-hate-those-whom-you-have-injured/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [Kindness, so far as we can return it, is agreeable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/kindness-so-far-as-we-can-return-it-is-agreeable/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [Posterity gives every man his true value.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/posterity-gives-every-man-his-true-value/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [The most detestable race of enemies are flatterers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/the-most-detestable-race-of-enemies-are-flatterers/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) [Explore all 227 Tacitus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) ## More Corrupt quotes > [“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-emerich-edward-dalberg-acton/power-tends-to-corrupt-and-absolute-power-corrupts-absolutely-great/) [John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-emerich-edward-dalberg-acton/) > [The Democrats and the Republicans are equally corrupt where money is concerned. It's only in the amount where the Republicans excel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/the-democrats-and-the-republicans-are-equally-corrupt-where-money-is/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [Chicago is unique. It is the only completely corrupt city in America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-edward-merriam/chicago-is-unique-it-is-the-only-completely-corrupt-city-in-america/) [Charles Edward Merriam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-edward-merriam/) > [Chicago's been under the grip of the corrupt and broken political machine for as long as everybody's memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-lightfoot/chicago-s-been-under-the-grip-of-the-corrupt-and-broken-political/) [Lori Lightfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-lightfoot/) > [What astonishes many of us is not so much that human nature is fundamentally corrupt; we are astonished rather that it does not behave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-irving-seiden/what-astonishes-many-of-us-is-not-so-much-that-human-nature-is/) Morton Irving Seiden > [The problem is that when you grow absolutely certain that all authorities are corrupt, then that would include the Palestinian authorities as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elia-suleiman/the-problem-is-that-when-you-grow-absolutely-certain-that-all/) [Elia Suleiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elia-suleiman/) > [Corruption hates what is not corrupt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-park/corruption-hates-what-is-not-corrupt/) Paul Park > [The Islamist camp is infused with a righteous indignation, as the forces of old, corrupt and rotten Egypt unite to try and drive them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crispin-blunt/the-islamist-camp-is-infused-with-a-righteous-indignation-as-the/) [Crispin Blunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crispin-blunt/) > [I have so many positive points. I am not corrupt, I am competent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamilisai-soundararajan/i-have-so-many-positive-points-i-am-not-corrupt-i-am-competent/) [Tamilisai Soundararajan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamilisai-soundararajan/) > [“It’s so easy to lose faith and become lost in all of the politics of the world. That’s why we need the arts. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/it-s-so-easy-to-lose-faith-and-become-lost-in-all-of-the-politics-of/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [“Interacting with a corrupt government judge is futile.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/interacting-with-a-corrupt-government-judge-is-futile/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [“Those who find ugly meanings in beautiful things are corrupt without being charming.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/those-who-find-ugly-meanings-in-beautiful-things-are-corrupt-without/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [If the Russians masterminded fraud for 40 years at the highest state level in sports, operating behind the scenes to corrupt sports, what else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-fogel/if-the-russians-masterminded-fraud-for-40-years-at-the-highest-state/) [Bryan Fogel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-fogel/) > [Burn a Bush cause for peace he no push no button. Killing over oil and grease, no weapons of destruction, How can we follow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/common/burn-a-bush-cause-for-peace-he-no-push-no-button-killing-over-oil-and/) [Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/common/) > [ I think everybody is covering their \[posteriors\] with the Enron scandal and it was very convenient that Sept. 11 came along to deflect the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-bernhard/i-think-everybody-is-covering-their-posteriors-with-the-enron-scandal/) [Sandra Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-bernhard/) Browse all 602 Corrupt quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When the state is most corrupt, then the laws are most multiplied.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tacitus" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/when-the-state-is-most-corrupt-then-the-laws-are-most-multiplied/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Corrupt" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/when-the-state-is-most-corrupt-then-the-laws-are-most-multiplied/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d46/tacitus-1552_corrupt_when-the-state-is-most-corrupt-then-the_601914.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d46/tacitus-1552_corrupt_when-the-state-is-most-corrupt-then-the_601914.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d46/tacitus-1552_corrupt_when-the-state-is-most-corrupt-then-the_601914.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When the state is most corrupt, then the laws are most multiplied.” — Tacitus", "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": "Tacitus", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When the state is most corrupt,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/when-the-state-is-most-corrupt-then-the-laws-are-most-multiplied/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/when-the-state-is-most-corrupt-then-the-laws-are-most-multiplied/#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 } } ] } ```