"It might be pardonable to refuse to defend some men, but to defend them negligently is nothing short of criminal."

Power

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Thematic Reflection

This quotation examines the core nature of Power as articulated by Marcus Tullius Cicero. Within historical and literary traditions, reflections on Power provide actionable mental models, challenging individuals to evaluate personal ethics, self-discipline, and daily actions.

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About Marcus Tullius Cicero

Marcus Tullius Cicero was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, and writer who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises of the Roman Republic that led to the establishment of the Roman Empire. The extensive writings of Cicero include treatises on rhetoric, philosophy, and politics. He is considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists and the innovator of what became known as "Ciceronian rhetoric". Cicero was educated in Rome and in Greece. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the Roman equestrian order, and served as consul in 63 BC.

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More by Marcus Tullius Cicero

"Nature abhors annihilation."

— Marcus Tullius Cicero
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"Friendship improves happiness and abates misery, by the doubling of our joy and the dividing of our grief."

— Marcus Tullius Cicero
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"If you have no confidence in self, you are twice defeated in the race of life. With confidence, you have won even before you have started."

— Marcus Tullius Cicero
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"Freedom is a possession of inestimable value."

— Marcus Tullius Cicero
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More about Power

"I would say any behavior that is not the status quo is interpreted as insanity, when, in fact, it might actually be enlightenment. Insanity is sorta in the eye of the beholder."

— Chuck Palahniuk
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"Power is the great aphrodisiac."

— Henry A. Kissinger
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"Our firm conviction that ours is a just cause and that we must find a peaceful way to attain our goals gave us the strength and the awareness of the limits beyond which we must not go."

— Lech Walesa
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"There is some information that an actor doesn't need, and that's okay. I can't control everything. I don't want to control everything. Sometimes, you want to control everything, and you want to know the size of the lens and stuff like that. I am so relaxed as an actor because I don't want to control everything. I just want to control my part."

— Javier Camara
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