When the tyrant has disposed of foreign enemies by conquest or treaty and there is nothing to fear from them, read more

When the tyrant has disposed of foreign enemies by conquest or treaty and there is nothing to fear from them, then he is always stirring up some war or other, in order that the people may require a leader.

Bleed, bleed, poor Country!
Great tyranny, lay thou thy basis sure,
For goodness dare not check thee; read more

Bleed, bleed, poor Country!
Great tyranny, lay thou thy basis sure,
For goodness dare not check thee; wear thou thy wrongs,
The title is affeered!

'Twixt kings and tyrans there's this difference known:
Kings seek their subjects' good, tyrants their owne.

'Twixt kings and tyrans there's this difference known:
Kings seek their subjects' good, tyrants their owne.

Under conditions of tyranny, it is far easier to act than to think.

Under conditions of tyranny, it is far easier to act than to think.

Tyranny and anarchy are never far asunder.

Tyranny and anarchy are never far asunder.

Th' oppressive, sturdy, man-destroying villains,
Who ravag'd kingdoms, and laid empires waste,
And in a cruel wantonness read more

Th' oppressive, sturdy, man-destroying villains,
Who ravag'd kingdoms, and laid empires waste,
And in a cruel wantonness of power,
Thinn'd states of half their people, and gave up
To want the rest.

There is nothing more hostile to a city that a tyrant, under whom
in the first and chiefest place, read more

There is nothing more hostile to a city that a tyrant, under whom
in the first and chiefest place, there are not laws in common,
but one man, keeping the law himself to himself, has the sway,
and this is no longer equal.

Any excuse will serve a tyrant.

Any excuse will serve a tyrant.

Hateful is the power, and pitiable is the life, of those who wish to be feared rather than loved.

Hateful is the power, and pitiable is the life, of those who wish to be feared rather than loved.