Skip to content
Shawords

Quote#Politics & Power

Two forms of government are favorable to the prevalence of falsehood…

Quote byAlbert Pike · 1809–1891

Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry (1871), Ch. III : The Master, p. 65.

English (original)

Two forms of government are favorable to the prevalence of falsehood and deceit. Under a Despotism, men are false, treacherous, and deceitful through fear, like slaves dreading the lash. Under a Democracy they are so as a means of attaining popularity and office, and because of the greed for wealth.

— Albert Pike

More from Albert Pike