O nation miserable,
With an untitled tyrant bloody-sceptred,
When shalt thou see thy wholesome days again,
read more

O nation miserable,
With an untitled tyrant bloody-sceptred,
When shalt thou see thy wholesome days again,
Since that the truest issue of thy throne
By his own interdiction stands accursed
And does blaspheme his breed?

But thou know'st this,
'Tis time to fear when tyrants seem to kiss.

But thou know'st this,
'Tis time to fear when tyrants seem to kiss.

This and no other is the root from which a tyrant springs; when he first appears he is a protector.

This and no other is the root from which a tyrant springs; when he first appears he is a protector.

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.

The tyranny of a prince in an oligarchy is not so dangerous to the public welfare as the apathy of read more

The tyranny of a prince in an oligarchy is not so dangerous to the public welfare as the apathy of a citizen in a democracy

If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy

If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy

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.

A king ruleth as he ought, a tyrant as he lists, a king to the
profit of all, a read more

A king ruleth as he ought, a tyrant as he lists, a king to the
profit of all, a tyrant only to please a few.

Think'st thou there is no tyranny but that
Of blood and chains? The despotism of vice--
The read more

Think'st thou there is no tyranny but that
Of blood and chains? The despotism of vice--
The weakness and the wickedness of luxury--
The negligence--the apathy--the evils
Of sensual sloth--produces ten thousand tyrants,
Whose delegated cruelty surpasses
The worst acts of one energetic master,
However harsh and hard in his own bearing.