225 Whether it be hedonism, pessimism, utilitarianism, or eudaemonism, all those modes of thinking which measure the worth of things according to pleasure and pain , that is, according to accompanying circumstances and secondary considerations, are plausible modes of thought and naivetes, which everyone conscious of creative powers and an artist's conscience will look down upon with scorn, though not without sympathy.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Beyond Good and Evil
"Yes, L ... Leto. When you rule, you gain knowledge of power. This can lead into impetuous irresponsibility, into painful excesses and that can lead to the terrible destroyer—wild hedonism."
Frank Herbert
God Emperor of Dune