The arbitrary rule of a just and enlightened prince is always bad. His virtues are the most dangerous and the surest form of seduction: they lull a people imperceptibly into the habit of loving, respecting, and serving his successor, whoever that successor may be, no matter how wicked or stupid.
ATTRIBUTION:
Denis Diderot (1713–1784), French philosopher. repr. In Selected Writings, ed. Lester G. Crocker (1966). Refutation of Helvétius (written 1773-76, published 1875).
