”History is a graveyard of aristocracies.”
Vilfredo Pareto
The Mind and Society (Primary source)
Trattato di sociologia generale (1916)—published in English in 1935 as The Mind and Society, translated by Andrew Bongiorno and Arthur Livingston—is his magnum opus and one of the most ambitious works of twentieth-century sociology.
More about “The Mind and Society” →
“Aristocracies do not last. Whatever the causes, it is an incontestable fact that after a certain length of time they pass away. History is a graveyard of aristocracies. The Athenian ‘People’ was an aristocracy as compared with the remainder of a population of resident aliens and slaves. It vanished without leaving any descent. The various aristocracies of Rome vanished in their time. So did the aristocracies of the Barbarians. Where, in France, are the descendants of the Frankish conquerors? The genealogies of the English nobility have been very exactly kept; and they show that very few families still remain to claim descent from the comrades of William the Conqueror. The rest have vanished. In Germany the aristocracy of the present day is very largely made up of descendants of vassals of the lords of old. The populations of European countries have increased enormously during the past few centuries. It is as certain as certain can be that the aristocracies have not increased in proportion.”
Vilfredo Pareto
“The history of man is the history of the continuous replacement of certain elites: as one ascends, another declines.”
— Vilfredo Pareto Primary source“The new elite which seeks to supersede the old one, or merely to share its power and honors, does not admit to such an intention frankly and openly.”
— Vilfredo Pareto Primary source“Assume that the new elite were clearly and simply to proclaim its intentions which are to supplant the old elite; no one would come to its assistance, it would be defeated before having fought a battle. On the contrary, it appears to be asking nothing for itself, well knowing that without asking anything in advance it will obtain what it wants as a consequence of its victory.”
— Vilfredo Pareto Primary source“When it is useful to them, men can believe a theory of which they know nothing more than its name.”
— Vilfredo Pareto Primary sourceMore quotes by Vilfredo Pareto →
“He touched her for the last time and then they turned away from each other and walked off into their different lives.”
— Ian Fleming Primary source“For four hundred years the foreign policy of England has been to oppose the strongest, most aggressive, most dominating Power on the Continent.”
— Winston Churchill Primary source“On the whole, in imperialism nothing fails like success.”
— William Ralph Inge Primary source“I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.”
— Ian Fleming Primary source