He that cannot obey, cannot command.
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
Poor Richard (1734 ed.)
(Source)
Quotations about:
command
Note not all quotations have been tagged, so Search may find additional quotes on this topic.
No man rules safely unless he is willing to be ruled. No man commands safely unless he has learned well how to obey.
[Nemo secure apparet nisi qui libenter latet. Nemo secure præcipit nisi qui obedire didicit.]
Thomas à Kempis (c. 1380-1471) German-Dutch priest, author
The Imitation of Christ [De Imitatione Christi], Book 1, ch. 20, v. 2 (1.20.2) (c. 1418-27) [tr. Croft/Bolton (1940)]
(Source)
See also Cicero. (Source (Latin)). Alternate translations:
No man is sure in prelacy, but that he would gladly be a subject: no, none may surely command, but he that hath learned gladly to obey
[tr. Whitford/Raynal (1530/1871)]
No man is secure in high position save he who would gladly be a subject. No man can firmly command save he who has learned gladly to obey.
[tr. Whitford/Gardiner (1530/1955)]
No man ruleth safely but he that is ruled willingly, no man securely doth command, but he that hath learned readily to obey.
[tr. Page (1639), 1.20.9]
No Man is fit to govern who hath not learned how to obey.
[tr. Stanhope (1696; 1706 ed.)]
No man can safely govern, that would not cheerfully become subject; no man can safely command, that has not truly learned to obey.
[tr. Payne (1803), 1.20.4]
No man ruleth safely, but he that is willingly ruled. No man securely doth command, but he that hath learned readily to obey.
[ed. Parker (1841)]
No man can safely govern, that would not willingly be governed; no man can safely command, that has not well learned to obey.
[tr. Dibdin (1851), 1.20.3]
No man is safe to govern, but he who would rather live in subjection. No man is safe to command, but he who has learned well how to obey.
[ed. Bagster (1860)]
No man safely ruleth but he who loveth to be subject. No man safely commandeth but he who loveth to obey.
[tr. Benham (1874)]
No man doth safely rule, but he that is glad to be ruled. No man doth safely rule, but he that hath learned gladly to obey.
[tr. Anon. (1901)]
No one is safely set above who would not cheerfully be subject. No one safely gives orders but he who has thoroughly learned to obey.
[tr. Daplyn (1952)]
No man can safely command, unless he who has learned to obey well.
[tr. Sherley-Price (1952)]
Never trust yourself [...] to come to the front, unless you would sooner be at the back; to give orders, unless you know how to obey them.
[tr. Knox-Oakley (1959), 1.20(b)]
No one can safely be in command, but the man who has learned complete obedience.
[tr. Knott (1962)]
No one governs with safety who is unwilling to be governed. No one gives commands with safety who has not learned well how to obey.
[tr. Rooney (1979)]
No one leads securely except the person who freely serves.
[tr. Creasy (1989)]
Have done at last.
Bow to my appeals. Don’t let your corrosive grief
devour you in silence, or let your dire concerns come
pouring from your sweet lips and plaguing me forever.[Desine iam tandem precibusque inflectere nostris,
ni te tantus edit tacitam dolor et mihi curae
saepe tuo dulci tristes ex ore recursent,
ventum ad supremum est.]Virgil (70-19 BC) Roman poet [b. Publius Vergilius Maro; also Vergil]
The Aeneid [Ænē̆is], Book 12, l. 800ff (12.800-803) [Jove] (29-19 BC) [tr. Fagles (2006)]
(Source)
Jove ordering Juno to stop prolonging the war between the local nations of Italy and the invading Trojans.
(Source (Latin)). Alternate translations:
Give o'er at last, to our intreaties bend,
Nor let such eating grief thee silent spend,
Nor with such care so often trouble me.
[tr. Ogilby (1649)]
At last, in deference to my love, forbear
To lodge within thy soul this anxious care;
Reclin'd upon my breast, thy grief unload:
Who should relieve the goddess, but the god?
[tr. Dryden (1697)]
Now at length desist, and be swayed by my entreaty: nor let such discontent prey upon you in silence; nor let gloomy cares so often meet me from those sweet lips.
[tr. Davidson/Buckley (1854)]
At length give way;
Permit my prayers your will to sway;
Nor brood in silent grief, nor vent
From those sweet lips your ill-content.
[tr. Conington (1866)]
Yield to our prayers, desist thou now at length;
Nor let such grief consume thy silent heart,
Nor from thy sweet lips let these gloomy cares
Encounter me so oft.
[tr. Cranch (1872), l. 1015ff]
Forbear now, I pray, and bend to our entreaties; let not the pain thus devour thee in silence, and distress so often flood back on me from thy sweet lips.
[tr. Mackail (1885)]
I prithee yield unto my prayers, and from thy troubling cease.
Let not thine hushed grief eat thine heart, or bitter words of care
So often from thy sweetest mouth the soul within me wear.
[tr. Morris (1900)]
Desist at length, and hearken to my prayer.
Feed not in silence on a grief so sore,
Nor spoil those sweet lips with unlovely care.
[tr. Taylor (1907), st. 104, l. 928ff]
Give o'er, and to our supplication yield;
let not such grief thy voiceless heart devour;
nor from thy sweet lips let thy mournful care
so oft assail my mind.
[tr. Williams (1910)]
Cease now, I pray, and bend to our entreaties, that such great grief may not consume thee in silence, nor to me may bitter cares so ft return from thy sweet lips.
[tr. Fairclough (1918)]
Stop it now, I tell you;
Listen to my entreaties: I would not have you
Devoured by grief in silence; I would not have you
Bring me, again, anxiety and sorrow,
However sweet the voice.
[tr. Humphries (1951)]
Then yield to my persuasions, give up the long feud now at last!
No more of the hidden rancour that so consumes you, the sullen
Recriminations your sweet lips have troubled me with so often.
[tr. Day-Lewis (1952)]
Stop at last;
give way to what I now ask: do not let
so great a sorrow gnaw at you in silence;
do not let your sweet lips so often press
your bitter cares on me.
[tr. Mandelbaum (1971), l. 1062ff]
Come now, at last
Have done, and heed our pleading, and give way.
Let yourself no longer be consumed
Without relief by all that inward burning;
Let care and trouble not forever come to me
From your sweet lips.
[tr. Fitzgerald (1981), l. 1083]
The time has come at last for you to cease and give way to our entreaties. Do not let this great sorrow gnaw at your heart in silence, and do not make me listen to grief and resentment for ever streaming from your sweet lips.
[tr. West (1990)]
Now cease, at last, and give way to my entreaties,
lest such sadness consume you in silence, and your bitter
woes stream back to me often from your sweet lips.
[tr. Kline (2002)]
Charon, bite back your spleen:
this has been willed where what is willed must be,
and is not yours to ask what it may mean.[Caron, non ti crucciare:
vuolsi così colà dove si puote
ciò che si vuole, e più non dimandare]Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) Italian poet
The Divine Comedy [Divina Commedia], Book 1 “Inferno,” Canto 3, l. 94ff (3.94-96) [Virgil] (1309) [tr. Ciardi (1954), l. 91ff]
(Source)
Replying to Charon who complains that he cannot ferry a living person. (Source (Italian)). Alternate translations:
Caron, do not torment
Yourself, nor trouble us with asking more;
For who would this, can do whate'er he wills.
[tr. Rogers (1782), l. 78ff]
Cease, sullen Pilot of th' Infernal Tide!
Comission'd from above he seeks the shore,
And pleads the will of Heav'n's immortal Sire!
[tr. Boyd (1802), st. 21]
Charon! thyself torment not: so 't is will'd,
Where will and power are one: ask thou no more.
[tr. Cary (1814)]
Rest, angry Charon, rest:
So is it willed to be, where might and will
Go hand in hand, and brook no farther quest.
[tr. Dayman (1843)]
Charon, vex not thyself: thus it is willed there, where what is willed can be done; and ask no more.
[tr. Carlyle (1849)]
Vex not thyself:
Such is the will of Him, whose dwelling's where
He can do what he wills. Questions forbear.
[tr. Bannerman (1850)]
"Charon," -- the Leader said -- "cease from thy rage;
There it is will'd, where is the pow'r to do
That which is will'd; so question thou no more."
[tr. Johnston (1867)]
Vex thee not, Charon;
It is so willed there where is power to do
That which is willed; and farther question not.
[tr. Longfellow (1867)]
Charon, vex not thyself; thus is it willed in that place where what is willed can be; and ask no more.
[tr. Butler (1885)]
Charon, be not sore;
So is it willed above, where will can do
That which it pleases; do not question more.
[tr. Minchin (1885)]
Charon, vex not thyself, it is thus willed there where is power to do that which is willed; and farther ask not.
[tr. Norton (1892)]
Charon, trouble not thyself: thus is it willed, where what is willed hath power to be accomplished; and ask no more.
[tr. Sullivan (1893)]
Charon, restrain thy fury;
Thus is it willed there where can be accomplished
Whatever is willed -- and further ask no question.
[tr. Griffith (1908)]
Charon, do not torment thyself. It is so willed where will and power are one, and ask no more.
[tr. Sinclair (1939)]
Charon, thy frowns forbear.
Thus is this thing willed there, where what is willed
Can be accomplished. Further question spare.
[tr. Binyon (1943)]
Charon, why wilt thou roar
And chafe in vain? Thus it is willed where power
And will are one; enough; ask thou no more.
[tr. Sayers (1949)]
Charon, do not rage. Thus it is willed there where that can be done which is willed; and ask no more.
[tr. Singleton (1970)]
Charon, this is no time for anger!
It is so willed, there where the power is
for what is willed; that's all you need to know.
[tr. Musa (1971)]
Charon, don't torment yourself:
our passage has been willed above, where One
can do what He has willed; and ask no more.
[tr. Mandelbaum (1980)]
Charon, don't torment yourself:
It is willed there, where anything can be done
If it is willed: no need for further questions.
[tr. Sisson (1981)]
Charon, do not rage:
Thus it is willed where everything may be
Simply if it is willed. Therefore, oblige,
And ask no more,
[tr. Pinsky (1994), l. 77ff]
Charon, do not torture yourself with anger: this is willed where what is willed can be done, so ask no more.
[tr. Durling (1996)]
Charon, do not vex yourself: it is willed there, where what is willed is done: ask no more.
[tr. Kline (2002)]
Charon, to protest is useless.
What is willed is what will be, because
it can be done; so leave the matter thus.
[tr. Carson (2002)]"Charon," my leader, "don't torment yourself.
For this is willed where all is possible
that is willed there. And so demand no more."
[tr. Kirkpatrick (2006)]
Charon, do not torment yourself.
It is willed where will and power are one,
and ask no more.
[tr. Hollander/Hollander (2007)]
Charon, this nonsense won't do.
These things were decided by those forever able
To make decisions and see them done. Not you.
[tr. Raffel (2010)]
Charon, never fear:
All this is wanted there where what is willed
Is said and done, so more than that don't ask.
[tr. James (2013)]
Even furious Juno, now plaguing the land and sea and sky
with terror: she will mend her ways and hold dear with me
these Romans, lords of the earth, the race arrayed in togas.
This is my pleasure, my decree.[Quin aspera Iuno,
quae mare nunc terrasque metu caelumque fatigat,
consilia in melius referet, mecumque fovebit
Romanos rerum dominos gentemque togatam:
sic placitum.]Virgil (70-19 BC) Roman poet [b. Publius Vergilius Maro; also Vergil]
The Aeneid [Ænē̆is], Book 1, l. 279ff (1.279-283) [Jupiter] (29-19 BC) [tr. Fagles (2006), l. 335ff]
(Source)
Juno favored Carthage, thus her plotting against Aeneas. Jupiter, early on in the story, decrees to Venus (Aeneas' mother) that Juno will come around and love those wacky toga-wearers. (Source (Latin)). Alternate translations:
Sterne June, here
Who now earth, Seas, and skies, wearies with fear,
Shall better counsels take, with us imbrace
The Romans Lords of all, and the gownd race.
[tr. Ogilby (1649)]
Ev'n haughty Juno, who, with endless broils,
Earth, seas, and heav'n, and Jove himself turmoils;
At length aton'd, her friendly pow'r shall join,
To cherish and advance the Trojan line.
The subject world shall Rome's dominion own,
And, prostrate, shall adore the nation of the gown.
[tr. Dryden (1697)]
And even sullen Juno, who now, through jealous fear, creates endless disturbance to sea, and earth, and heaven, shall change her counsels for the better, and join with me in befriending the Romans, lords of the world, and the nation of the gown. Such is my pleasure.
[tr. Davidson/Buckley (1854)]
Nay Juno's self, whose wild alarms
Set ocean, earth, and heaven in arms,
Shall change for smiles her moody frown,
And vie with me in zeal to crown
Rome's sons, the nation of the gown.
[tr. Conington (1866)]
Nay, harsh Juno, who disturbs
With fear the sea and land and shy, will change
Her counsels for the better, and with me
Cherish the Romans, masters of affairs.
The toga'd nation. Such is my decree.
[tr. Cranch (1872)]
Nay, harsh Juno, who in her fear now troubles earth and sea and sky, shall change to better counsels, and with me shall cherish the lords of the world, the gowned race of Rome. Thus is it willed.
[tr. Mackail (1885)]
Yea, Juno, hard of heart,
Who wearieth now with fear of her the heavens and earth and sea,
Shall gather better counsel yet, and cherish them with me;
The Roman folk, the togaed men, lords of all worldly ways.
Such is the doom.
[tr. Morris (1900)]
Nay, Juno, too, who now, in mood malign,
Earth, sea and sky is harrying, shall incline
To better counsels, and unite with me
To cherish and uphold the imperial line,
The Romans, rulers of the land and sea,
Lords of the flowing gown. So standeth my decree.
[tr. Taylor (1907), st. 37, l. 328ff]
Yea, even my Queen,
Juno, who now chastiseth land and sea
with her dread frown, will find a wiser way,
and at my sovereign side protect and bless
the Romans, masters of the whole round world,
who, clad in peaceful toga, judge mankind.
Such my decree!
[tr. Williams (1910)]
Nay, harsh Juno, who now in her fear troubles sea and earth and sky, shall change to better counsels and with me cherish the Romans, lords of the world, and the nation of the gown. Thus is it decreed.
[tr. Fairclough (1916)]
Even bitter Juno
Whose fear now harries earth and sea and heaven
Will change to better counsels, and will cherish
The race that wears the toga, Roman masters
Of all the world. It is decreed.
[tr. Humphries (1951)]
Even the spiteful Juno,
Who in her fear now troubles the earth, the sea and the sky,
Shall think better of this and join me in fostering
The cause of the Romans, the lords of creation, the togaed people.
Thus it is written.
[tr. Day Lewis (1952)]
Then even bitter Juno shall be changed;
for she, who now harasses lands and heavens
with terror, then shall hold the Romans dear
together with me, cherishing the masters
of all things, and the race that wears the toga.
This is what I decree.
[tr. Mandelbaum (1971), l. 391ff]
Juno, indeed, whose bitterness now fills
With fear and torment sea and earth and sky,
Will mend her ways, and favor them as I do,
Lords of the world, the toga-bearing Romans.
Such is our pleasure.
[tr. Fitzgerald (1981), l. 376ff]
Even angry Juno, who is now wearying sea and land and sky with her terrors, will come to better counsel and join with me in cherishing the people of Rome, the rulers of the world, the race that wears the toga. So it has been decreed.
[tr. West (1990)]
Why, harsh Juno
who now torments land, and sea and sky with fear,
will respond to better judgement, and favour the Romans,
masters of the world, and people of the toga, with me.
So it is decreed.
[tr. Kline (2002)]
Even Juno, who in her site and fear
Now vexes earth, sea, and sky, shall adopt
A better view, wand with me cherish the Romans,
Lords of the world, the people of the toga.
That is my pleasure.
[tr. Lombardo (2005)]
Even cruel Juno, terror of the land and sea and sky, will change her plans and (like me) favor Romans: people of the toga, rulers of the world. So I've decreed.
[tr. Bartsch (2021)]
Folly is a child of power. We all know, from unending repetitions of Lord Acton’s dictum, that power corrupts. We are less less aware that it breeds folly: that the power to command frequently causes failure to think: that the responsibility of power often fades as its exercise augments.
Fear, born of that stern matron, Responsibility, sits on one’s shoulders like some heavy imp of darkness, and one is preoccupied and, possibly, cantankerous.
For the man who rules efficiently must have obeyed others in the past, and the man who obeys dutifully appears fit at some later time to be a ruler.
[Nam et qui bene imperat, paruerit aliquando necesse est, et qui modeste paret, videtur qui aliquando imperet dignus esse.]
Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC) Roman orator, statesman, philosopher
De Legibus [On the Laws], Book 3, ch. 2 / sec. 5 (3.2/3.5) [Marcus] (c. 51 BC) [tr. Keyes (1928)]
(Source)
(Source (Latin)). Alternate translations:
For in order to command well, we should know how to submit; and he who submits with a good grace will some time become worthy of commanding.
[tr. Barham (1842)]
For he who commands well, must at some time or other have obeyed; and he who obeys with modesty appears worthy of some day or other being allowed to command.
[tr. Barham/Yonge (1878)]
A man who exercises power effectively will at some stage have to obey others, and one who quietly executes orders shows that he deserves, eventually, to wield power himself.
[tr. Rudd (1998)]
For the good commander must necessarily at some time be obedient, and the person who is properly obedient seems like someone worthy at some time of commanding.
[tr. Zetzel (1999)]
For it is necessary that he who commands well should obey at some time, and he who temperately obeys seems to be worthy of commanding at some time.
[tr. Fott (2013)]
DAVE BOWMAN: Open the pod bay doors, HAL.
HAL 9000: I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that.
Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999) American film director, screenwriter, producer
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) [with Arthur C. Clarke]
A lot of companies — I know it sounds crazy — but a lot of companies … hire people to tell them what to do. We hire people to tell us what to do. We figure we’re paying them all this money; their job is to figure out what to do and tell us.
Steve Jobs (1955-2011) American computer inventor, entrepreneur
“Steve Jobs: ‘Computer Science Is A Liberal Art’,” interview with Terry Gross, Fresh Air, NPR (1996)
(Source)
There are a number of variants on this quotation. A common one: "It doesn't make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do."
You can lead an organization through persuasion or formal edict. I have never found the arbitrary use of authority to control an organization either effective or, for that matter, personally interesting. If you cannot persuade your colleagues of the correctness of your position, it is probably worthwhile to rethink your own.
Alan Greenspan (b. 1926) American economist, bureaucrat
“Federal Reserve’s Chairman Blends Eye for Politics with Economic Skills,” New York Times (26 Jul 1990)
The leader holds his position purely because he is able to appeal to the conscience and to the reason of those who support him, and the boss holds his position because he appeals to fear of punishment and hope of reward. The leader works in the open, and the boss in covert. The leader leads, and the boss drives.
Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901-1909)
Speech, Binghamton, New York (24 Oct 1910)
Your position never gives you the right to command. It only imposes on you the duty of so living your life that others can receive your orders without being humiliated.
Dag Hammarskjöld (1905-1961) Swedish diplomat, author, UN Secretary-General (1953-61)
Markings (1955) [tr. Sjoberg & Auden (1964)]
Be the chief but never the lord.
Lao-tzu (604?-531? BC) Chinese philosopher, poet [also Lao-tse, Laozi]
The Way of Life, ch. 10 [tr. Blakney (1955)]
What you cannot enforce,
Do not command!Sophocles (496-406 BC) Greek tragic playwright
Oedipus at Colonus, l. 839 [tr. Fitzgerald (1941)]
But finally, there is one other quality I would mention among these that I believe will fit you for difficult and important posts. This is a healthy and lively sense of humor.
Dwight David Eisenhower (1890-1969) American general, US President (1953-61)
Commencement Address, US Naval Academy (4 Jun 1958)
The objection to Puritans is not that they try to make us think as they do, but that they try to make us do as they think.
H. L. Mencken (1880-1956) American writer and journalist [Henry Lewis Mencken]
A Little Book in C Major, ch. 5, § 22 (1916)
(Source)
Sail, quoth the King; hold, saith the Wind.
Thomas Fuller (1654-1734) English physician, preacher, aphorist, writer
Gnomologia: Adages and Proverbs, #4064 (1732)
(Source)
Conscience can’t be compelled.
Thomas Fuller (1654-1734) English physician, preacher, aphorist, writer
Gnomologia: Adages and Proverbs, #1144 (1732)
(Source)
Formerly there were those who said: You believe things that are incomprehensible, inconsistent, impossible because we have commanded you to believe them; go then and do what is unjust because we command it. Such people show admirable reasoning. Truly, whoever is able to make you absurd is able to make you unjust. If the God-given understanding of your mind does not resist a demand to believe what is impossible, then you will not resist a demand to do wrong to that God-given sense of justice in your heart. As soon as one faculty of your soul has been dominated, other faculties will follow as well. And from this derives all those crimes of religion which have overrun the world.
[Il y a eu des gens qui ont dit autrefois: Vous croyez des choses incompréhensibles, contradictoires, impossibles, parce que nous vous l’avons ordonné; faites donc des choses injustes parce que nous vous l’ordonnons. Ces gens-là raisonnaient à merveille. Certainement qui est en droit de vous rendre absurde est en droit de vous rendre injuste. Si vous n’opposez point aux ordres de croire l’impossible l’intelligence que Dieu a mise dans votre esprit, vous ne devez point opposer aux ordres de malfaire la justice que Dieu a mise dans votre coeur. Une faculté de votre âme étant une fois tyrannisée, toutes les autres facultés doivent l’être également. Et c’est là ce qui a produit tous les crimes religieux dont la terre a été inondée.]
Voltaire (1694-1778) French writer [pseud. of Francois-Marie Arouet]
Questions sur les miracles (1765)
(Source)
Commonly translated: "Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities."
When trouble arises and things look bad, there is always one individual who perceives a solution and is willing to take command. Very often, that individual is crazy.
Dave Barry (b. 1947) American humorist
“25 Things I Have Learned In 50 Years,” #23 (1997)
He who imposes his argument by bravado and command shows that it is weak in reason.
[Qui establit son discours par braverie et commandement, montre que la raison y est foible.]
Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) French essayist
Essays, Book 3, ch. 11 “Of Cripples [Des Boyteux]” (1587) (3.11) (1595) [tr. Frame (1943)]
(Source)
(Source (French)). Alternate translations:
He that with braverie and by comaundement will establish his discourse, declareth his reason to be weake.
[tr. Florio (1603), "Of the Lame or Cripple"]
Who will establish his Discourse by Authority and Huffing, discovers his Reason to be very weak.
[tr. Cotton (1686)]
He who will establish this proposition by authority and huffing discovers his reason to be very weak.
[tr. Cotton/Hazlitt (1877), "On the Lame"]
He who establishes his argument by defiance and by command shews that his reasoning is weak.
[tr. Ives (1925)]
Any man who supports his opinion with challenges and commands demonstrates that his reasons for it are weak.
[tr. Screech (1987), "On the Lame"]
He who establishes his argument by noise and command shows that his reason is weak.
[Source]
Children have more need of models than of critics.
Joseph Joubert (1754-1824) French moralist, philosopher, essayist, poet
Pensées, # 261 (1838) [tr. Attwell (1877)]
(also attrib. Carolyn Coats)
