Power is dangerous unless you have humility.

"Power is dangerous unless you have humility." Thus spoke Richard J. Daley, reminding the world of an eternal truth that has crowned the wise and destroyed the proud. For power without restraint becomes a tyrant’s weapon, a fire that consumes both the wielder and the world around him. Only humility, the guardian of the soul, can temper power and transform it from destruction into service.

The ancients bore witness to this law. The kings of old who clothed themselves in arrogance fell swiftly, for the gods despise hubris. But the leaders who bowed their heads in humility, acknowledging their own limits, reigned with longer peace. Power is like a sword—sharp, glittering, and perilous. In the hand of the proud it slays recklessly, but in the hand of the humble it defends, protects, and preserves.

Consider the life of George Washington. At the birth of a nation, he held immense power: armies at his command, the adoration of the people, and the chance to seize a crown. Yet his humility restrained him. He refused to be king and chose instead the path of service, placing the republic above his own glory. This self-denial transformed his power into an enduring foundation of freedom, for his restraint taught his people that liberty is greater than dominion.

History also shows us the opposite. Napoleon Bonaparte, once hailed as a savior, gathered ever more power yet lost all trace of humility. He crowned himself emperor, reaching higher than mortal men should climb, and his fall was as swift as his rise. The lack of humility turned his genius into arrogance and his victories into ruin. Thus he stands as a warning: untempered power destroys even the greatest.

So let this wisdom be handed down: seek not to destroy power, but to bind it with humility. For strength is not in how high one rises, but in how deeply one bows. The leader who remembers he is but dust will use power to uplift, not oppress. But the man who forgets humility walks the path of ruin. Therefore, embrace humility, and your power will become not a danger, but a blessing to the generations.