Quotes about Authority

A world is supported by four things…." She held up four big-knuckled fingers. "…the learning of the wise, the justice of the great, the prayers of the righteous and the valor of the brave. But all of these are as nothing…." She closed her fingers into a fist. "…without a ruler who knows the art of ruling. Make that

We should grant power over our affairs only to those reluctant to hold it, and only under conditions that increase that reluctance.

The problem with leadership is that leaders are human beings. And when they make mistakes, their mistakes are amplified by the numbers who follow without question.

A bad administrator is more concerned with reports than with decisions. He wants the hard record which he can display as an excuse for his errors." "And good administrators?

It requires good government. That does not depend upon laws or precedent, but upon the personal qualities of whoever governs.

Good administrators make immediate choices." "Acceptable choices?" "They usually can be made to work. A bad administrator, on the other hand, hesitates, diddles around, asks for committees, for research and reports. Eventually, he acts in ways which create serious problems.

Command must always look confident, he thought. All that faith riding on your shoulders while you sit in the critical seat and never show it.

Religion and law among our masses must be one and the same," his father said. "An act of disobedience must be a sin and require religious penalties. This will have the dual benefit of bringing both greater obedience and greater bravery.

Frank Herbert warned young people not to trust government, telling them that the American founding fathers had understood this and had attempted to establish safeguards in the Constitution.

It's an old, old trick of autocratic rule. Good subjects must feel guilty. The guilt begins as a feeling of failure. The good autocrat provides many opportunities for failure in the populace.

But power deluded those who used it. One tended to believe power could overcome any barrier … including one's own ignorance.

Give as few orders as possible,' his father had told him … once … long ago. 'Once you've given orders on a subject, you must always give orders on that subject.