The second corruption of the state is oligarchy (oligos = few), in which the military elite is narrowed down to a few ruling families of immense wealth and prestige, who now openly flaunt their wealth and possessions.

The small Hitlers are around us every day.

At the heart of the mystery of corruption lies the desire of one man to impose his will on others to the largest possible extent.

Corrupt men are always liars. Lies are their instruments, their pleasure, their solace. In time they come to believe their lies, or rather to half-believe them.

The corrupt man is nearly always rootless, deeply aware of his rootlessness.

Uncorrupted man, with God's blessing, advances across the fields of the universe as though he were walking down a country lane.

Long before the empire had reached its greatest extent, the Romans were bored by it.