Quotes from Robert Greene

Her lips are roses over-washed with dew, Or like the purple of Narcissus' flower; No frost their fair, no wind doth waste their power, But by her breath her beauties to renew.

I know My God commands, whose power no power resists.

Half of your mastery of power comes from what you do NOT do, what you do not ALLOW yourself to get dragged into.

The real poetry and beauty in life comes from an intense relationship with reality in all its aspects. Realism is in fact the ideal we must aspire to, the highest point of human rationality.

To hold an idea and convince ourselves we arrived at it rationally, we go in search of evidence to support our view.

When I say 'Crush your enemy', I don't literally mean it.

Always make those above you feel comfortably superior. In your desire to please or impress them, do not go too far in displaying your talents or you might accomplish the opposite - inspire fear and insecurity.

To succeed in the game of power, you have to master your emotions. But even if you succeed in gaining such self-control, you can never control the temperamental dispositions of those around you. And this presents a great danger.

When you meet a swordsman, draw your sword: Do not recite poetry to one who is not a poet.

12--Lose Battles, But Win The War: Grand Strategy Grand strategy is the art of looking beyond the present battle and calculating ahead. Focus on your ultimate goal and plot to reach it.

Remember: The best deceivers do everything they can to cloak their roguish qualities. They cultivate an air of honesty in one area to disguise their dishonesty in others. Honesty is merely another decoy in their arsenal of weapons.

Sweet are the thoughts that savour of content, The quiet mind is richer than a crown...

An emotional response to a situation is the single greatest barrier to power, a mistake that will cost you a lot more than any temporary satisfaction you might gain by expressing your feelings.

A Prince asked the dying spanish statesman, Does your Excellency forgive all your enemies? I do not have to forgive all my enemies, answered the stateman, I have had them all shot.

Never be distracted by people's glamorous portraits of themselves and their lives; search and dig for what really imprisons them.

He who poses as a fool is not a fool.

Never whine, never complain, never try to justify yourself.

friendship and love blind every man to their interests.

Become who you are by learning who you are.

Do not fight them. Instead think of them the way you think of children, or pets, not important enough to affect your mental balance

The key to power, then, is the ability to judge who is best able to further your interests in all situations. Keep friends for friendship, but work with the skilled and competent.

The human tongue is a beast that few can master.

Oysters open completely when the moon is full; and when the crab sees one it throws a piece of stone or seaweed into it and the oyster cannot close again so that it serves the crab for meat. Such is the fate of him who opens his mouth too much and thereby puts himself at the mercy of the listener. Leonardo da Vinci, 1452-1519

Your fears are a kind of prison that confines you within a limited range of action. The less you fear, the more power you will have and the more fully you will live.