Jean de la Bruyere Quote

“A wise man neither suffers himself to be governed, nor attempts to govern others.”

~ Jean de la Bruyere


Ratings and Comments


Kimo, USA
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Kimo, USA    7/27/11

Wise man minds his owbuss, and respects other men

J Carlton, Calgary

There is a major difference between an administration / management and governance. No one has a right to "govern" anyone. Not in a supposedly free country anyway...

jim k, Austin, Tx

For a real education about the causes of the global economic meltdown of 2008, get the movie documentary, "Inside Job". You get a pretty good idea who is really running things in this country and the ending is amazing.

RedMenace, Methuen

Geez, he lived a long time. No wonder he was so wise.

cal, lewisville, tx

Yes, what changes he would have seen in such a long life time.

Mike, Norwalk

The American experiment (representatives of the individual sovereign(s), mere hirelings, to only have authority and power to manage a limited certain affairs of their masters) was so new, no word in any language described the situation. The term 'government' (inferring - to lord over) was the universally accepted term for such management, so it was used. The term's original understanding has helped in extinguishing the American dream of a free society where a free individual may act, with out being acted upon.

jim k, Austin, Tx

Most of the people in the U.S. Congress have no discernible qualifications to govern and the President has even fewer.

Ron w13, Yachats Or

Mike well said, This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed great unto me: There was a little city, and a few men in it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it: Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man. Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.

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