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Kratoklastes's avatar

I disagree with Acton's apophthegm, and consider it to be a perfect example of elite misdirection. Rather than "power corrupts", I think it's far more useful to start with the idea that ONLY those prone to corruption seek power.

So I would replace Acton with the French poet and author 'Alaine", who NAILED IT both in French and in translation:

"Car enfin le trait le plus visible dans l'homme juste est de ne point vouloir du tout gouverner les autres, et de se gouverner seulement lui-même. Cela décide tout. Autant dire que les pires gouverneront."

"Because finally, the most obvious characteristic of the Just Man is to not with at all to govern others, and to govern solely himself. That decides everything. We can basically say that THE WORST WILL RULE".

I will keep Chesterton at #2, solely for the second-last stanza of "The Secret People", the first few lines of which capture the modern bureaucrat so perfectly:

"The have given us into the hands of the new unhappy lords,

Men without anger or honour, who dare not carry their swords.

They fight by shuffling papers,

They have bright, dead, alien eyes;

They look on our love and our laughter as a tired man looks to flies."

C.S. Lewis at #3 again solely for "The Inner Ring", especially the bit about how a man will be led to being a scoundrel over tea with people he is desperate to impress.

Now... this is where things get Arch (btw): we know that Python lists start at 0: the 0th position in the list must go to the Stoic Sage BIAS OF PRIENE, who famously said in the 5th century BC -

"Oi Pleistoi Anthropoi Kakoi" - Most People Are Shit.

Quibble all you like about my preferred translation of 'Kakoi', but translating it as "shitty" is defensible - and as a Sage, Bias would necessarily have been a meme troll-meister, a master shit-poster and a legendary edgelord.

Obviously I am biased in my choice of Bias at #0 - poll position - but if you're going to have a bias, make it Bias of Priene.

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Jessica J's avatar

"They gave us a republic; we were not able to keep it. Hopefully, the good men of future ages can learn from our mistakes."- Bravo

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