--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What good is power when you're too wise…" description: "\"What good is power when you're too wise to use it?\" — Ursula K. Le Guin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ed/ursula-k-le-guin-138_power_what-good-is-power-when-you-re-too-wise_1185821.jpg" --- # What good is power when you're too wise to use it? ![“What good is power when you're too wise to use it?” quote by Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ed/ursula-k-le-guin-138_power_what-good-is-power-when-you-re-too-wise_1185821.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ed/ursula-k-le-guin-138_power_what-good-is-power-when-you-re-too-wise_1185821.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ed/ursula-k-le-guin-138_power_what-good-is-power-when-you-re-too-wise_1185821.jpg) > “What good is power when you're too wise to use it?” [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) ## 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 useless if the wise choose not to apply it. **In simple terms:** Wisdom without action is wasted. Key Takeaway Use knowledge responsibly. Themes power wisdom responsibility Mood thoughtful cautious Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - government policy - corporate decisions - personal choices - community leadership Key Concepts ethics leadership Questions to Reflect On - When is restraint wiser than action? - How to ensure wise use of power? A Different Perspective Wisdom may be misused despite good intentions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good/) [Good Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-power-1436168/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Power Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power-wise-2263277/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) [Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise/) [Wise Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise-use-1938202/) ## Related quotes > [“You have no power if you are ignorant, you have a little power if you are simple, you have much power if you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/you-have-no-power-if-you-are-ignorant-you-have-a-little-power-if-you/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [“fools use tomorrow, wise use today.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kacey-cooper/fools-use-tomorrow-wise-use-today/) [Kacey Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kacey-cooper/) > [The fools use tomorrow, the wise use today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-fools-use-tomorrow-the-wise-use-today/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To be wise use three languages: think well, feel well and do well. And to be wise allow yourselves to be surprised by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/to-be-wise-use-three-languages-think-well-feel-well-and-do-well-and/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [I clearly understood the concept of wise use before I ever heard the actual words, for my father wouldn't allow us to waste anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nugent/i-clearly-understood-the-concept-of-wise-use-before-i-ever-heard-the/) [Ted Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nugent/) > [“word is like a sword; you should be wise when to use it or it'll kill and ruin everything you did in your past,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-thaselia/word-is-like-a-sword-you-should-be-wise-when-to-use-it-or-it-ll-kill/) [A Thaselia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-thaselia/) > [Be wise in the use of time. The question in life is not "how much time do we have?" The question is "what shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-robertson-brown-lindsay/be-wise-in-the-use-of-time-the-question-in-life-is-not-how-much-time/) [Anna Robertson Brown Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-robertson-brown-lindsay/) > [The power to do good is also the power to do harm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/the-power-to-do-good-is-also-the-power-to-do-harm/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) > [“Do not withhold good . . . when it is in your power to do it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-hauck/do-not-withhold-good-when-it-is-in-your-power-to-do-it/) [Rachel Hauck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-hauck/) > [I admire all people who are trying to be a good power in this chaotic world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoko-ono/i-admire-all-people-who-are-trying-to-be-a-good-power-in-this-chaotic/) [Yoko Ono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoko-ono/) > [What good is power if there's no connection point? My entire style's built around that actual basis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dominick-cruz/what-good-is-power-if-there-s-no-connection-point-my-entire-style-s/) [Dominick Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dominick-cruz/) > [Oh, how easy it must be to be good when one has the power of doing good!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-edmonstone-ferrier/oh-how-easy-it-must-be-to-be-good-when-one-has-the-power-of-doing-good/) [Susan Edmonstone Ferrier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-edmonstone-ferrier/) > [“Freedom isn't the highest good. Power is. For without power, your freedom can be taken.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-weeks/freedom-isn-t-the-highest-good-power-is-for-without-power-your/) [Brent Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-weeks/) > [We have a call to do good, as often as we have the power and occasion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/we-have-a-call-to-do-good-as-often-as-we-have-the-power-and-occasion/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) > [Your problems are good. They are power in disguise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-victor-hansen/your-problems-are-good-they-are-power-in-disguise/) [Mark Victor Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-victor-hansen/) ## More by Ursula K. Le Guin > [“...I wore his blood for clothing, on my legs and thighs and hands: a dry, stiff, brown garment with no warmth in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-wore-his-blood-for-clothing-on-my-legs-and-thighs-and-hands-a-dry/) [Ursula K. 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The only thing I have ever done. I pressed a button. It took the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-did-a-lot-today-that-is-i-did-something-the-only-thing-i-have-ever/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [To me the female principle is, or at least historically has been, basically anarchic. It values order without constraint, rule by custom not by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/to-me-the-female-principle-is-or-at-least-historically-has-been/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“Hector had no virtue?” “Of course he did. He won all his battles, till the last one.” “We all do,” Aeneas remarked.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/hector-had-no-virtue-of-course-he-did-he-won-all-his-battles-till-the/) [Ursula K. 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