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April 20, 2013

The tyranny of one man or that of many?

If I have only one despot, I am quit of him by drawing myself up against a wall when I see him pass,

or by bowing low, or by striking the ground with my forehead, according to the custom of the country; but if there is a company of a hundred despots, I am exposed to repeating this ceremony a hundred times a day, which in the long run is very annoying if one's hocks are not supple. If I have a farm in the neighbourhood of one of our lords, I am crushed; if I plead against a relation of the relations of one of our lords, I am ruined. What is to be done? I fear that in this world one is reduced to being either hammer or anvil; lucky the man who escapes these alternatives! -- Voltaire's Philosophical Dictionary

Posted by gerardvanderleun at April 20, 2013 1:09 PM. This is an entry on the sideblog of American Digest: Check it out.

Your Say

Voltaire, of course, was happy to be the hammer while abjuring others to become the anvil.

Posted by: Rob De Witt at April 20, 2013 4:18 PM

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