A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves.

The line warns that passive, compliant citizens (“sheep”) invite predatory, unaccountable rulers (“wolves”). It frames political outcomes as partly a product of civic character: when the public relinquishes skepticism, participation, and the defense of liberties, power tends to concentrate in the hands of those willing to exploit fear and apathy. The aphorism also implies a reciprocal relationship between governed and governors—tyranny is not only imposed from above but enabled from below through resignation and silence. In modern usage it often functions as a critique of propaganda, demagoguery, and the erosion of democratic norms when citizens fail to demand transparency and restraint.