Citations:libido dominandi


 * 1574, May: Heinrich Bullinger, “Letter to a Biſhop of the Church of England” in: Michel de La Roche [ed.], New Memoirs of Literature, volume 1, page 104 (1725 publication)
 * In the month of May 1574, Bullinger, a famous Divine of Zurich in Switzerland, writ the following Letter to a Biſhop of the Church of England, concerning thoſe who laboured to introduce a ruling Presbytery inſtead of the Epiſcopal Government, and to take away the revenues of the Biſhops, and put them to better uſes. “In my opinion, ſaid he, they imitate thoſe ſeditious Tribunes of Rome, who, by virtue of the Agrarian Law, beſtowed the public Goods, that they might enrich themſelves. That is, that you (the Biſhops) being overthrown, they may ſucceed in your Places — But they go about to erect a Church, which they ſhall never advance, as they deſire: neither if they ſhould, can they ever be able to continue it —— Would to God there were not in the Authors of this Presbytery, an ambitious deſire of Rule and Domination, (libido dominandi.) Nay, I think it ought eſpecially to be provided for, that there be not any high Authority given to this Presbytery. Whereof many things might be ſaid; but time will reveal many things, which yet lie hid”.
 * 1737: James Harrington, The Oceana and Other Works: With an Account of His Life / by John Toland, page 469
 * 23. Oligarchists (to the end they may keep all others out of the government) pretending themſelves to be ſaints, do alſo pretend, that they in whom luſt reigns, are not fit for reign or for government. But libido dominandi, the luſt of government, is the greateſt luſt, which alſo reigns moſt in thoſe that have leaſt right, as in oligarchiſts: for many a king and many a people have and had unqueſtionable right, but an oligarchiſt never; whence from their own argument, the luſt of government reigning moſt in oligarchiſts, it undeniably follows that oligarchiſts of all men are leaſt fit for government.