Quotes Library

May 28, 2025

A friend in power is a friend lost.

Henry Adams (1838–1918), American historian, The Education of Henry Adams (1907), Seldes, p.4

How many friends have you lost in the course of your political career? How many have you made? How many of those do you think will remain friends after you leave office?

Substitute spouse, in-law, etc. for friend and it still holds true. Power makes demands on people different from what they have ever experienced before.


More Quotes

August 9, 2025
The great enemy of clear language is insincerity.
September 18, 2025
Nothing is so abject and pathetic as a politician who has lost his job, save only a retired stud-horse.
December 17, 2025
Men in high places, from having less personal interest in the characters of others—being safe from them—are commonly less acute observers,
Page 102 of 122