--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For one to grasp, whatever be his object…" description: "\"For one to grasp, whatever be his object, sov'reign power ... is an act of perilous presumption.\" — Vittorio Alfieri" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c9/vittorio-alfieri-21989_kings_for-one-to-grasp-whatever-be-his-object_2761789.jpg" --- # For one to grasp, whatever be his object, sov'reign power… ![“For one to grasp, whatever be his object, sov'reign power ... is an act of perilous presumption.” quote by Vittorio Alfieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c9/vittorio-alfieri-21989_kings_for-one-to-grasp-whatever-be-his-object_2761789.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c9/vittorio-alfieri-21989_kings_for-one-to-grasp-whatever-be-his-object_2761789.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c9/vittorio-alfieri-21989_kings_for-one-to-grasp-whatever-be-his-object_2761789.jpg) > “For one to grasp, whatever be his object, sov'reign power ... is an act of perilous presumption.” [Vittorio Alfieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vittorio-alfieri/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Attempting to control something beyond one's grasp is reckless. **In simple terms:** Power over the unknown is dangerous. Key Takeaway Respect limits, act wisely. Themes power presumption risk Mood cautious serious Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - political leadership - personal ambition - scientific research - legal decisions Key Concepts hubris authority overreach Questions to Reflect On - What boundaries do you respect? - When is caution more valuable than ambition? A Different Perspective Overconfidence can lead to failure. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Act Perilous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/act-perilous-3174617/) [Kings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kings/) [Objects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/objects/) [Perilous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perilous/) [Perilous Presumption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perilous-presumption-3174616/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Presumption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/presumption/) [Reign](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reign/) [Sov Reign](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sov-reign-1998090/) ## Related quotes > [For patience, sov'reign o'er transmuted ill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/for-patience-sov-reign-o-er-transmuted-ill/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [She has great problems of her own to solve, very grim and perilous problems, and a right solution, if we can attain to it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-cabot-lodge/she-has-great-problems-of-her-own-to-solve-very-grim-and-perilous/) [Henry Cabot Lodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-cabot-lodge/) > [A woman in such an emotional tempest is as perilous as a blind cobra to any about her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-howard/a-woman-in-such-an-emotional-tempest-is-as-perilous-as-a-blind-cobra/) [Robert E. Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-e-howard/) > [The intellectual power, through words and things, Went sounding on a dim and perilous way!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/the-intellectual-power-through-words-and-things-went-sounding-on-a/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [“The only thing worse than a perilous adventure is a boring one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/the-only-thing-worse-than-a-perilous-adventure-is-a-boring-one/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) > [Reading, solitude, idleness, a soft and sedentary life, intercourse with women and young people, these are perilous paths for a young man, and these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/reading-solitude-idleness-a-soft-and-sedentary-life-intercourse-with/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [A strength to harm is perilous in the hand of an ambitious head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-i/a-strength-to-harm-is-perilous-in-the-hand-of-an-ambitious-head/) [Elizabeth I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-i/) > [Regarding R. H. Blyth: Blyth is sometimes perilous, naturally, since he's a high-handed old poem himself, but he's also sublime - and who goes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reginald-horace-blyth/regarding-r-h-blyth-blyth-is-sometimes-perilous-naturally-since-he-s/) [Reginald Horace Blyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reginald-horace-blyth/) > [“An alliance with the haramu-ful has always been a perilous thing. Perilous for his mother and father. For his friends. For his wife. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/an-alliance-with-the-haramu-ful-has-always-been-a-perilous-thing/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [“Love is a perilous dance too, you see. And if we stop dancing, we'll die. Don't ever stop dancing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-avery-ellison/love-is-a-perilous-dance-too-you-see-and-if-we-stop-dancing-we-ll-die/) [Kate Avery Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-avery-ellison/) > [Fortune's wheel never stands still the highest point is therefore the most perilous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-edgeworth/fortune-s-wheel-never-stands-still-the-highest-point-is-therefore-the/) [Maria Edgeworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-edgeworth/) > [By far my most perilous assignment was covering a tank car explosion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-savitch/by-far-my-most-perilous-assignment-was-covering-a-tank-car-explosion/) [Jessica Savitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-savitch/) > [“The fact that pigs were abroad in the night seemed to bring home to me the perilous nature of my enterprise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/the-fact-that-pigs-were-abroad-in-the-night-seemed-to-bring-home-to/) [P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/) > ["Lawyers Are": Perilous mouths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/lawyers-are-perilous-mouths/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Everyone seems agreed that writing about sex is perilous, partly because it threatens to swamp highly individualised characters in a generic, featureless activity (much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/everyone-seems-agreed-that-writing-about-sex-is-perilous-partly/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) ## More by Vittorio Alfieri > [The time for hope is gone, and come for fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vittorio-alfieri/the-time-for-hope-is-gone-and-come-for-fear/) [Vittorio Alfieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vittorio-alfieri/) > [The guilty is he who meditates a crime; the punishment is his who lays the plot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vittorio-alfieri/the-guilty-is-he-who-meditates-a-crime-the-punishment-is-his-who-lays/) [Vittorio Alfieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vittorio-alfieri/) > [Disgrace does not consist in the punishment, but in the crime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vittorio-alfieri/disgrace-does-not-consist-in-the-punishment-but-in-the-crime/) [Vittorio Alfieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vittorio-alfieri/) > [Heaven takes care that no man secures happiness by crime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vittorio-alfieri/heaven-takes-care-that-no-man-secures-happiness-by-crime/) [Vittorio Alfieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vittorio-alfieri/) > [If ardent passions push not men on to lofty enterprise, calm wisdom never will accomplish it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vittorio-alfieri/if-ardent-passions-push-not-men-on-to-lofty-enterprise-calm-wisdom/) [Vittorio Alfieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vittorio-alfieri/) > [Joy surfeited turns to sorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vittorio-alfieri/joy-surfeited-turns-to-sorrow/) [Vittorio Alfieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vittorio-alfieri/) > [Necessity inspires the fatal thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vittorio-alfieri/necessity-inspires-the-fatal-thought/) [Vittorio Alfieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vittorio-alfieri/) > [Liars are always most disposed to swear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vittorio-alfieri/liars-are-always-most-disposed-to-swear/) [Vittorio Alfieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vittorio-alfieri/) > [That blood which thou hast spill'd, should join you closely in an eternal bond.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vittorio-alfieri/that-blood-which-thou-hast-spill-d-should-join-you-closely-in-an/) [Vittorio Alfieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vittorio-alfieri/) > [For 'tis impossible Hate to return with love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vittorio-alfieri/for-tis-impossible-hate-to-return-with-love/) [Vittorio Alfieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vittorio-alfieri/) > [I had seen the great, but I had not seen the small.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vittorio-alfieri/i-had-seen-the-great-but-i-had-not-seen-the-small/) [Vittorio Alfieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vittorio-alfieri/) > [Deep vengeance is the daughter of deep silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vittorio-alfieri/deep-vengeance-is-the-daughter-of-deep-silence/) [Vittorio Alfieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vittorio-alfieri/) > [First thoughts are not always the best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vittorio-alfieri/first-thoughts-are-not-always-the-best/) [Vittorio Alfieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vittorio-alfieri/) > [Ofttimes the test of courage becomes rather to live than to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vittorio-alfieri/ofttimes-the-test-of-courage-becomes-rather-to-live-than-to-die/) [Vittorio Alfieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vittorio-alfieri/) > [There is a silence, the child of love, which expresses everything, and proclaims more loudly than the tongue is able to do; there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vittorio-alfieri/there-is-a-silence-the-child-of-love-which-expresses-everything-and-2/) [Vittorio Alfieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vittorio-alfieri/) [Explore all 28 Vittorio Alfieri quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vittorio-alfieri/) ## More Kings quotes > [Plenty of white space and generous line spacing,and don't make the type size too miserly. Then you will be assured of a product fit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giambattista-bodoni/plenty-of-white-space-and-generous-line-spacing-and-don-t-make-the/) [Giambattista Bodoni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giambattista-bodoni/) > [“Kings don’t move mountains as a favor to a friend,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-whalen-turner/kings-don-t-move-mountains-as-a-favor-to-a-friend/) [Megan Whalen Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-whalen-turner/) > [I worked in a barbershop. I used to make the waves in the brother's hair, you know? Like, Nat King Cole, Sugar Ray Robinson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clinton/i-worked-in-a-barbershop-i-used-to-make-the-waves-in-the-brother-s/) [George Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clinton/) > [ I think it is worse \[in 2015\] for a mid-list author such as myself. You either have to sell like Stephen King or go… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-p-kinsella/i-think-it-is-worse-in-2015-for-a-mid-list-author-such-as-myself-you/) [W. P. Kinsella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-p-kinsella/) > [The only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy. Others attain unto a glory and may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brigham-young/the-only-men-who-become-gods-even-the-sons-of-god-are-those-who-enter/) [Brigham Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brigham-young/) > [My dad's family were political and he was always a theatrical creature, whereas my mum is really musical and her father was the touring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-jones/my-dad-s-family-were-political-and-he-was-always-a-theatrical/) [Grace Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-jones/) > [What is accurately portrayed is the rich humanity not just of Martin Luther King but of the movement, which was a multiracial movement. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/what-is-accurately-portrayed-is-the-rich-humanity-not-just-of-martin/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [If Jesus is king in heaven then the Kingdom of God is in heaven. If Jesus is king, reign on earth then the Kingdom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/if-jesus-is-king-in-heaven-then-the-kingdom-of-god-is-in-heaven-if/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [ Steve \[King\] has been incredibly supportive. He's also really good about getting back to me when I have questions about plot or characterization. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-furth/steve-king-has-been-incredibly-supportive-he-s-also-really-good-about/) [Robin Furth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-furth/) > [As a sports fan, the Los Angeles Kings winning the Stanley Cup makes me feel very alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/five-for-fighting/as-a-sports-fan-the-los-angeles-kings-winning-the-stanley-cup-makes/) [Five for Fighting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/five-for-fighting/) > [Well, I don't want to be king, I want to be real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennon/well-i-don-t-want-to-be-king-i-want-to-be-real/) [John Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennon/) > [The rights essential to happiness. . . . We claim them from a higher source - from the King of kings and Lord of all the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dickinson/the-rights-essential-to-happiness-we-claim-them-from-a-higher-source/) [John Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dickinson/) > [Here will be an old abusing of God's patience and the king's English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/here-will-be-an-old-abusing-of-god-s-patience-and-the-king-s-english/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Benny Carter came up to me and said to me, "You know, in the whole history of the alto, I think Phil is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-gordon/benny-carter-came-up-to-me-and-said-to-me-you-know-in-the-whole/) [Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-gordon/) > [My child, seek those things which make for peace. Cease to stir up the King against the Church, and urge upon him a better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-child-seek-those-things-which-make-for-peace-cease-to-stir-up-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 4,009 Kings quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kings/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For one to grasp, whatever be his object, sov'reign power ... is an act of perilous presumption.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vittorio Alfieri" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vittorio-alfieri/for-one-to-grasp-whatever-be-his-object-sov-reign-power-is-an-act-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Kings" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vittorio-alfieri/for-one-to-grasp-whatever-be-his-object-sov-reign-power-is-an-act-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c9/vittorio-alfieri-21989_kings_for-one-to-grasp-whatever-be-his-object_2761789.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c9/vittorio-alfieri-21989_kings_for-one-to-grasp-whatever-be-his-object_2761789.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c9/vittorio-alfieri-21989_kings_for-one-to-grasp-whatever-be-his-object_2761789.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For one to grasp, whatever be his object, sov'reign power ... is an act of perilous presumption.” — Vittorio Alfieri", "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": "Vittorio Alfieri", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vittorio-alfieri/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "For one to grasp, whatever be...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vittorio-alfieri/for-one-to-grasp-whatever-be-his-object-sov-reign-power-is-an-act-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vittorio-alfieri/for-one-to-grasp-whatever-be-his-object-sov-reign-power-is-an-act-of/#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 } } ] } ```