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About this quote

What does it mean?
Orators and despots may seem powerful but are constrained by their inability to achieve what they truly wish.
In plain terms
Those with power often cannot do what they really want.
What can you take from it?
Power without wisdom limits true freedom.

Where it applies

  • tyranny
  • leadership
  • decision making

Putting it to work

  • evaluate authority
  • seek wisdom
  • question power

Questions to consider

  • What limits true power?
  • Can power be without limits?

Another view

Some wield power effectively to achieve their goals.

More from Plato

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  3. Thus rhetoric, it seems, is a producer of persuasion for belief, not for instruction in the matter of right and wrong ... And so the rhetorician's business is …

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