Neither should we forget the mean, which at the present day is lost sight of in perverted forms of government; for many practices which appear to be democratical are the ruin of democracies, and many which appear to be oligarchical are the ruin of oligarchies. Those who think that all virtue is to be found in their own party principles push matters to extremes; they do not consider that disproportion destroys a state. Aristotle
About This Quote

The concept of meanness, which is a relatively new word, has been around for a very long time. It is a strong word that should be used sparingly. In this quote, Niccolo Machiavelli refers to the virtue of meanness in regard to governments and does not think that all virtues are used equally in all forms of government. His idea is that while the virtues of honesty and justice may be admirable in a democracy or an aristocracy, they can be destructive when used by an oligarchy or an autocracy.

Source: Politics

Some Similar Quotes
  1. I don't care a damn about men who are loyal to the people who pay them, to organizations... I don't think even my country means all that much. There are many countries in our blood, aren't there, but only one person. Would the world be... - Graham Greene
  2. I can see how it might be possible for a man to look down upon the earth and be an atheist, but I cannot conceive how a man could look up into the heavens and say there is no God. - Abraham Lincoln
  3. Civilized men are more discourteous than savages because they know they can be impolite without having their skulls split, as a general thing. - Robert E. Howard
  4. In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three or more is a congress. - Peter Stone
  5. You know what's truly weird about any financial crisis? We made it up. Currency, money, finance, they're all social inventions. When the sun comes up in the morning it's shining on the same physical landscape, all the atoms are in place. - Bruce Sterling
More Quotes By Aristotle
  1. To perceive is to suffer.
  2. One swallow does not make a summer, neither does one fine day; similarly one day or brief time of happiness does not make a person entirely happy.
  3. For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them.
  4. ...happiness does not consist in amusement. In fact, it would be strange if our end were amusement, and if we were to labor and suffer hardships all our life long merely to amuse ourselves.... The happy life is regarded as a life in conformity with...
  5. Men acquire a particular quality by constantly acting a particular way... you become just by performing just actions, temperate by performing temperate actions, brave by performing brave actions.
Related Topics