...people, highly gifted both physically and mentally, find themselves in the power of a small group of people quite alien to them in thought, and immeasurably inferior to them in religious morality.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Tolstoy claims that capable individuals often fall under the control of morally inferior leaders.
- In plain terms
- Talented people are often ruled by those less morally developed than themselves.
- What can you take from it?
- Moral superiority does not guarantee leadership power.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Who holds power in your life?
- Does power correlate with virtue?
Another view
It assumes a clear link between talent and moral standing which is not always true.
More from Leo Tolstoy
...that a majority of working people submit to a handful of idlers who control their labour and their very lives is always and everywhere the same...
Permalink to quote #79 ...the reason lies in the lack of a reasonable religious teaching which, by explaining the meaning of life would supply a supreme law for the guidance of condu…
Permalink to quote #81 I know that most men - not only those considered clever, but even those who are very clever and capable of understanding most difficult scientific, mathematica…
Permalink to quote #78
Related quotes
[Alan Cranston] understood power not as a reflection of status but as a tool with a purpose.' - Sen. Joseph Biden December 31, 2000 on Meet the Press
Alan CranstonAlan Cranston quote #1 WITH GREAT POWER THERE MUST ALSO COME - - GREAT RESPONSIBILITY!
Stan LeeStan Lee quote #1 The problem of power is how to achieve its responsible use rather than its irresponsible and indulgent use - of how to get men of power to live for the public …
Robert F. KennedyRobert F. Kennedy quote #1