People who have power respond simply. They have no minds but

The words of Ivy Compton-Burnett unveil a stern truth about the nature of power: “People who have power respond simply. They have no minds but their own.” To hold power is to be freed from the need of flattery, excuse, or borrowed thought. The powerful need not cloak their intent in riddles or disguise their will in deference. Their speech is plain, for it springs from authority, and their mind is sovereign, unchained by the counsel of others.

Yet such simplicity is both strength and peril. For when a man or woman has “no mind but their own,” they may stand as pillars of independence, or they may fall into the abyss of pride. Power magnifies the self; if that self is just, it shines with clarity; if it is corrupt, it spreads darkness unchecked. Thus, Compton-Burnett’s words are not only observation but warning: the powerful live in the solitude of their own mind, and it is there that their empire is built or broken.

History offers us the example of Alexander the Great. At his height, he responded with simplicity, unbent by hesitation or doubt. His generals debated, his companions wavered, but Alexander’s mind was his own, and from that resolute clarity came victories that carved an empire from the edge of Greece to the gates of India. Yet that same unyielding will drove him to excess, pride, and early death, showing both the majesty and the danger of a soul that answers to none but itself.

So too in the realm of ideas, Martin Luther stood before emperors and councils and declared, “Here I stand, I can do no other.” In that moment, he embodied the truth of Compton-Burnett’s words: the one with true power—be it spiritual or moral—cannot be compelled by the voices of men, for his conscience speaks louder than their decrees. The world shifts when such a figure rises, whether for glory or for ruin.

Therefore, let this wisdom be passed down: power strips away pretense and reveals the core of a person. Those who have it will respond with simplicity, for they no longer bend to others’ minds. If their hearts are noble, their words become light; if their hearts are corrupt, their words become chains. Guard therefore the mind, for when power comes, it is the only compass that remains.