All governments suffer a recurring problem: Power attracts pathological personalities.

Frank Herbert
About This Quote

The quote, “Power attracts pathological personalities” has two parts to it. The first part is that power attracts people who are not fit for power. The second part is that power attracts people who are not fit for power. This second part of the quote is what makes it so interesting.

Many people think that when you gain power, the people around you will be good for you. People often think that if they become powerful, everyone around them will act in a way that is good for them. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

The fact is that when you gain power, many people will instinctively want to take advantage of your position and do so in ways that are harmful to you. If you wish to be healthy in your life, I would look at the quote above and say, “Read it through again and re-evaluate how it fits into your current situation.”

Some Similar Quotes
  1. I wonder if fears ever really go away, or if they just lose their power over us. - Veronica Roth
  2. The day the power of love overrules the love of power, the world will know peace. - Mahatma Gandhi
  3. Keep your best wishes, close to your heart and watch what happens - Tony Deliso
  4. I met an old lady once, almost a hundred years old, and she told me, 'There are only two questions that human beings have ever fought over, all through history. How much do you love me? And Who's in charge? - Elizabeth Gilbert
  5. This life is yours. Take the power to choose what you want to do and do it well. Take the power to love what you want in life and love it honestly. Take the power to walk in the forest and be a part of... - Susan Polis Schutz
More Quotes By Frank Herbert
  1. There is no escape–we pay for the violence of our ancestors.
  2. The people I distrust most are those who want to improve our lives but have only one course of action.
  3. Whether a thought is spoken or not it is a real thing and it has power, " Tuek said. "You might find the line between life and death among the Fremen to be too sharp and quick.
  4. Guilt starts as a feeling of failure.
  5. Governments, if they endure, always tend increasingly toward aristocratic forms. No government in history has been known to evade this pattern. And as the aristocracy develops, government tends more and more to act exclusively in the interests of the ruling class -- whether that class...
Related Topics