A collection of top quotations and sayings about power.

Top Quotes About Power

Power is what enables us to do something, and as such, is fundamental to the growth of our society. Having the power of controlling one's urges is considered a virtue by spiritual leaders and philosophers. However, power has a particularly significant connotation in the field of politics as power can both be granted and be assumed. It is the distribution and exercise of power that defines and shapes political entities around the world. Considering the fact that most authoritarian regimes seize immense power unlawfully instead of being given, it has become a proverbial saying that power tends to corrupt. Every sensible human being should put an effort to ensure that power is entrusted on responsible hands that work towards the welfare of all. As we go through the below quotes, we will see how great minds throughout history have reminded us to be responsible about exercising power.

Everything in the world is about sex except sex. Sex is about power.

Everything in the world is about sex except sex. Sex is about power.
Oscar Wilde

We do not need magic to transform our world. We carry all the power we need inside ourselves already.

We do not need magic to transform our world. We carry all the power we need inside ourselves already.
J. K. Rowling

When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.

When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.
Jimi Hendrix

The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any.

The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any.
Alice Walker

Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free.

Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free.
Jim Morrison

Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.

Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.
Abraham Lincoln

We do not need magic to transform our world. We carry all of the power we need inside ourselves already.

We do not need magic to transform our world. We carry all of the power we need inside ourselves already.
J. K. Rowling

You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.

You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.
Marcus Aurelius

A word after a word after a word is power.

A word after a word after a word is power.
Margaret Atwood

Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.
George Carlin

I don't much care whether rural Anatolians or Istanbul secularists take power. I'm not close to any of them. What I care about is respect for the individual.

I don't much care whether rural Anatolians or Istanbul secularists take power. I'm not close to any of them. What I care about is respect for the individual.
Orhan Pamuk

The secularists in Turkey haven't underestimated religion, they just made the mistake of believing they could control it with the power of the army alone.

The secularists in Turkey haven't underestimated religion, they just made the mistake of believing they could control it with the power of the army alone.
Orhan Pamuk

The thing women have yet to learn is nobody gives you power. You just take it.

The thing women have yet to learn is nobody gives you power. You just take it.
Roseanne Barr

There is no good and evil, there is only power and those too weak to seek it.

There is no good and evil, there is only power and those too weak to seek it.
J. K. Rowling

Words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality.

Words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality.
Edgar Allan Poe

You could tell 'The Handmaid's Tale' from a male point of view. People have mistakenly felt that the women are oppressed, but power tends to organise itself in a pyramid. I could pick a male narrator from somewhere in that pyramid. It would interesting.
Margaret Atwood

Travel brings power and love back into your life.

Travel brings power and love back into your life.
Rumi

Time is compressed like the fist I close on my knee... I hold inside it the clues and solutions and the power for what I must do now.

Time is compressed like the fist I close on my knee... I hold inside it the clues and solutions and the power for what I must do now.
Margaret Atwood

The day the power of love overrules the love of power, the world will know peace.

The day the power of love overrules the love of power, the world will know peace.
Mahatma Gandhi

I had always been fascinated with Napoleon because he was a self-made emperor; Victor Hugo said, 'Napoleon's will to power,' and it was the title of my paper. And I submitted it to my teacher, and he didn't think I had written it. And he wanted me to explain it to him.
August Wilson

Doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them.

Doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them.
George Orwell

I gave him my heart, and he took and pinched it to death; and flung it back to me. People feel with their hearts, Ellen, and since he has destroyed mine, I have not power to feel for him.

I gave him my heart, and he took and pinched it to death; and flung it back to me. People feel with their hearts, Ellen, and since he has destroyed mine, I have not power to feel for him.
Emily Brontë

The value systems of those with access to power and of those far removed from such access cannot be the same. The viewpoint of the privileged is unlike that of the underprivileged.

The value systems of those with access to power and of those far removed from such access cannot be the same. The viewpoint of the privileged is unlike that of the underprivileged.
Aung San Suu Kyi

The power of finding beauty in the humblest things makes home happy and life lovely.

The power of finding beauty in the humblest things makes home happy and life lovely.
Louisa May Alcott

Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing.

Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing.
George Orwell

Women have served all these centuries as looking glasses possessing the magic and delicious power of reflecting the figure of man at twice its natural size.

Women have served all these centuries as looking glasses possessing the magic and delicious power of reflecting the figure of man at twice its natural size.
Virginia Woolf

The habit of collecting, of attachment to things, is an essential human trait. But Western civilization put collecting on a pedestal by inventing museums. Museums are about representing power. It could be the king's power or, later, people's power.
Orhan Pamuk

All things are subject to interpretation. Whichever interpretation prevails at a given time is a function of power and not truth.

All things are subject to interpretation. Whichever interpretation prevails at a given time is a function of power and not truth.
Friedrich Nietzsche

If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.

If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.
Marcus Aurelius

I do not wish them [women] to have power over men; but over themselves.

I do not wish them [women] to have power over men; but over themselves.
Mary Wollstonecraft

My task, which I am trying to achieve is, by the power of the written word, to make you hear, to make you feel--it is, before all, to make you see.

My task, which I am trying to achieve is, by the power of the written word, to make you hear, to make you feel--it is, before all, to make you see.
Joseph Conrad

'Winning' in Hollywood means not just power, money, and complimentary smoked-salmon pizza, but also that everyone around you fails just as you are peaking.

'Winning' in Hollywood means not just power, money, and complimentary smoked-salmon pizza, but also that everyone around you fails just as you are peaking.
Roseanne Barr

Loving someone is giving them the power to break your heart, but trusting them not to.

Loving someone is giving them the power to break your heart, but trusting them not to.
Julianne Moore

Recognizing power in another does not diminish your own.

Recognizing power in another does not diminish your own.
Joss Whedon

When you blame others, you give up your power to change.

When you blame others, you give up your power to change.
Robert Anthony

Never allow a person to tell you no who doesn't have the power to say
yes.

Never allow a person to tell you no who doesn't have the power to say yes.
Eleanor Roosevelt

The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power. Because they control the minds of the masses.

The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power. Because they control the minds of the masses.
Malcolm X

Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of husbands. Remember all men would be tyrants if they could.

Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of husbands. Remember all men would be tyrants if they could.
Abigail Adams

What power would hell have if those imprisoned here would not be able to dream of heaven?

What power would hell have if those imprisoned here would not be able to dream of heaven?
Neil Gaiman

The most regretful people on earth are those who felt the call to creative work, who felt their own creative power restive and uprising, and gave to it neither power nor time.

The most regretful people on earth are those who felt the call to creative work, who felt their own creative power restive and uprising, and gave to it neither power nor time.
Mary Oliver

Believe there is a great power silently working all things for good, behave yourself and never mind the rest.

Believe there is a great power silently working all things for good, behave yourself and never mind the rest.
Beatrix Potter

Jewelry and pins have been worn throughout history as symbols of power, sending messages. Interestingly enough, it was mostly men who wore the jewelry in various times, and obviously crowns were part of signals that were being sent throughout history by people of rank.
Madeleine Albright

Human greatness does not lie in wealth or power, but in character and goodness. People are just people, and all people have faults and shortcomings, but all of us are born with a basic goodness.

Human greatness does not lie in wealth or power, but in character and goodness. People are just people, and all people have faults and shortcomings, but all of us are born with a basic goodness.
Anne Frank

I am more and more convinced that man is a dangerous creature and that power, whether vested in many or a few, is ever grasping, and like the grave, cries, 'Give, give.'

I am more and more convinced that man is a dangerous creature and that power, whether vested in many or a few, is ever grasping, and like the grave, cries, 'Give, give.'
Abigail Adams

The measure of a man is what he does with power.

The measure of a man is what he does with power.
Plato

I know nothing in the world that has as much power as a word. Sometimes I write one, and I look at it, until it begins to shine.

I know nothing in the world that has as much power as a word. Sometimes I write one, and I look at it, until it begins to shine.
Emily Dickinson

Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts... perhaps the fear of a loss of power.

Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts... perhaps the fear of a loss of power.
John Steinbeck

A cult is a religion with no political power.

A cult is a religion with no political power.
Tom Wolfe

Hand in hand with freedom of speech goes the power to be heard, to share in the decisions of government which shape men's lives.

Hand in hand with freedom of speech goes the power to be heard, to share in the decisions of government which shape men's lives.
Robert F. Kennedy

I was dead, then alive.
Weeping, then laughing.

The power of love came into me,
and I became fierce like a lion,
then tender like the evening star.

I was dead, then alive. Weeping, then laughing. The power of love came into me, and I became fierce like a lion, then tender like the evening star.
Rumi

Nothing external to you has any power over you.

Nothing external to you has any power over you.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

When you argue against Him you are arguing against the very power that makes you able to argue at all: it is like cutting off the branch you are sitting on.

When you argue against Him you are arguing against the very power that makes you able to argue at all: it is like cutting off the branch you are sitting on.
C. S. Lewis

There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power or our will.

There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power or our will.
Epictetus

Knowing too much about other people puts you in their power, they have a claim on you, you are forced to understand their reasons for doing things and then you are weakened.

Knowing too much about other people puts you in their power, they have a claim on you, you are forced to understand their reasons for doing things and then you are weakened.
Margaret Atwood

Our whole constitutional heritage rebels at the thought of giving government the power to control men's minds.

Our whole constitutional heritage rebels at the thought of giving government the power to control men's minds.
Thurgood Marshall

Arbitrary power is like most other things which are very hard, very liable to be broken.

Arbitrary power is like most other things which are very hard, very liable to be broken.
Abigail Adams

Let us say in the pocket of one of my old coats I find a movie ticket from many years ago. Once I see the ticket, not only do I remember that I saw this movie, but also scenes from this movie, which I think I have entirely forgotten, come back to me. Objects have this power, and I like it.
Orhan Pamuk

The human brain is a complex organ with the wonderful power of enabling man to find reasons for continuing to believe whatever it is that he wants to believe.

The human brain is a complex organ with the wonderful power of enabling man to find reasons for continuing to believe whatever it is that he wants to believe.
Voltaire

With great power comes great responsibilty.

With great power comes great responsibilty.
Stan Lee

You are a volume in the divine book
A mirror to the power that created the universe
Whatever you want, ask it of yourself
Whatever you’re looking for can only be found
Inside of you

You are a volume in the divine book A mirror to the power that created the universe Whatever you want, ask it of yourself Whatever you’re looking for can only be found Inside of you
Rumi

That which we persist in doing becomes easier to do, not that the nature of the thing has changed but that our power to do has increased.

That which we persist in doing becomes easier to do, not that the nature of the thing has changed but that our power to do has increased.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.

Almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.
Robert A. Heinlein

Do not act as if you were going to live ten thousand years. Death hangs over you. While you live, while it is in your power, be good.

Do not act as if you were going to live ten thousand years. Death hangs over you. While you live, while it is in your power, be good.
Marcus Aurelius

I assess the power of a will by how much resistance, pain, torture it endures and knows how to turn to its advantage

I assess the power of a will by how much resistance, pain, torture it endures and knows how to turn to its advantage
Friedrich Nietzsche

The object of terrorism is terrorism. The object of oppression is oppression. The object of torture is torture. The object of murder is murder. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?

The object of terrorism is terrorism. The object of oppression is oppression. The object of torture is torture. The object of murder is murder. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?
George Orwell

We know very little, and yet it is astonishing that we know so much, and still more astonishing that so little knowledge can give us so much power.

We know very little, and yet it is astonishing that we know so much, and still more astonishing that so little knowledge can give us so much power.
Bertrand Russell

I believe in delegating power.
Hillary Clinton

Power is of two kinds. One is obtained by the fear of punishment and the other by acts of love. Power based on love is a thousand times more effective and permanent than the one derived from fear of punishment.

Power is of two kinds. One is obtained by the fear of punishment and the other by acts of love. Power based on love is a thousand times more effective and permanent than the one derived from fear of punishment.
Mahatma Gandhi

Where there is power, there is resistance.

Where there is power, there is resistance.
Michel Foucault

It is the true duty of every man to promote the happiness of his fellow creatures to the utmost of his power.

It is the true duty of every man to promote the happiness of his fellow creatures to the utmost of his power.
William Wilberforce

The only power that exists is inside ourselves.

The only power that exists is inside ourselves.
Anne Rice

Education is the power to think clearly, the power to act well in the world's work, and the power to appreciate life.

Education is the power to think clearly, the power to act well in the world's work, and the power to appreciate life.
Brigham Young

What we need most is to restore and revive our humanity. We must create a society where people can live with dignity, a society where people can live in peace and happiness. People are tired of games played for power and profit. People are tired of hatred and conflict. They want to live with more wisdom and confidence, and in peace. It may seem like a long and distant path, but I am convinced that the 21st century must see a movement to sow the seeds of peace, happiness and trust in every person's heart. The seeds of a truly humane way of life. I am convinced this is the only path.
Daisaku Ikeda

The power of imagination makes us infinite.

The power of imagination makes us infinite.
John Muir

'Smart power' is the use of American power in ways that would help prevent and resolve conflict - not just send our military in.

'Smart power' is the use of American power in ways that would help prevent and resolve conflict - not just send our military in.
Hillary Clinton

The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting

The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting
Milan Kundera

Your power is in your thoughts, so stay awake. In other words, remember to remember.

Your power is in your thoughts, so stay awake. In other words, remember to remember.
Rhonda Byrne

The power of human thought grows exponentially with the number of minds that share that thought.

The power of human thought grows exponentially with the number of minds that share that thought.
Dan Brown

When faith replaces doubt, when selfless service eliminates selfish striving, the power of God brings to pass His purposes.

When faith replaces doubt, when selfless service eliminates selfish striving, the power of God brings to pass His purposes.
Thomas S. Monson

We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it.

We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it.
George Orwell

We need to change the power structure in America, we need to end the political oligarchy.

We need to change the power structure in America, we need to end the political oligarchy.
Bernie Sanders

Self-control is strength. Right thought is mastery. Calmness is power.

Self-control is strength. Right thought is mastery. Calmness is power.
James Allen

The companions of our childhood always possess a certain power over our minds which hardly any later friend can obtain.

The companions of our childhood always possess a certain power over our minds which hardly any later friend can obtain.
Mary Shelley

An affirmation to say everyday:

The healing power of God is working in me right now. Eveyr day I get better and better in every way.

An affirmation to say everyday: The healing power of God is working in me right now. Eveyr day I get better and better in every way.
Joyce Meyer

VI VERI VENIVERSUM VIVUS VICI.
By the Power of Truth, I, while living, have Conquered the Universe.

VI VERI VENIVERSUM VIVUS VICI. By the Power of Truth, I, while living, have Conquered the Universe.
Alan Moore

Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.

Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.
Stan Lee

Properly, we should read for power. Man reading should be man intensely alive. The book should be a ball of light in one's hand.

Properly, we should read for power. Man reading should be man intensely alive. The book should be a ball of light in one's hand.
Ezra Pound

As you enter positions of trust and power, dream a little before you think.

As you enter positions of trust and power, dream a little before you think.
Toni Morrison

There are two powers in the world; one is the sword and the other is the pen. There is a great competition and rivalry between the two. There is a third power stronger than both, that of the women.

There are two powers in the world; one is the sword and the other is the pen. There is a great competition and rivalry between the two. There is a third power stronger than both, that of the women.
Muhammad Ali Jinnah

Silence is the ultimate weapon of power.

Silence is the ultimate weapon of power.
Charles de Gaulle

I believe in the transformational power of liberty. I believe that the free Iraq is in this nation's interests. I believe a free Afghanistan is in this nation's interest.

I believe in the transformational power of liberty. I believe that the free Iraq is in this nation's interests. I believe a free Afghanistan is in this nation's interest.
George W. Bush

The power is in the balance: we are our injuries, as much as we are our successes.

The power is in the balance: we are our injuries, as much as we are our successes.
Barbara Kingsolver

I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.

I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.
James Madison

An animal's eyes have the power to speak a great language.

An animal's eyes have the power to speak a great language.
Martin Buber

The difference between a rebel and a patriot depends upon who is in power at the moment.

The difference between a rebel and a patriot depends upon who is in power at the moment.
Sidney Sheldon

Grace is the pleasure of God to magnify the worth of God by giving sinners the right and power to delight in God without obscuring the glory of God.

Grace is the pleasure of God to magnify the worth of God by giving sinners the right and power to delight in God without obscuring the glory of God.
John Piper

Well, I think, by definition, all power has limits.

Well, I think, by definition, all power has limits.
Hillary Clinton

Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even.

Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even.
Muhammad Ali

Power does not corrupt men; fools, however, if they get into a position of power, corrupt power.

Power does not corrupt men; fools, however, if they get into a position of power, corrupt power.
George Bernard Shaw

The trouble with her is that she lacks the power of conversation but not the power of speech.

The trouble with her is that she lacks the power of conversation but not the power of speech.
George Bernard Shaw

There is no bigger aphrodisiac than power.

There is no bigger aphrodisiac than power.
Zsa Zsa Gabor

The right of nature... is the liberty each man hath to use his own power, as he will himself, for the preservation of his own nature; that is to say, of his own life.

The right of nature... is the liberty each man hath to use his own power, as he will himself, for the preservation of his own nature; that is to say, of his own life.
Thomas Hobbes

Top Quotes About Power

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Time