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

May 20, 2025
Politics must redress the natural injustice of history.
January 29, 2025
Ordinary men usually manage public affairs better than more gifted fellows. The latter are always wanting to appear wiser than the laws,
January 12, 2025
It is a great error to speak of the things of this world absolutely and indiscriminately and to deal with them,
Page 11 of 63