Quotes About Manipulation

But it wasn't the intermittent reception or even the whispering that exasperated Amina so much as a familiar trick of her mother's: to bring up a subject in such a roundabout way that Amina had to pry it out of her, as if she were the one who'd wanted to discuss it in the first place.

Phil doesn't say yes, but he doesn't really say no. He's willing to ruin a person's life in order to keep her from being angry at him.

Well, I thought, someone has to get screwed. That's the art of the deal.

I always thought that voluntary arms compliance inspections were sort of like a suspected murderer leading me on a guided tour of his house. No, Detective, there's nothing in that closet of any interest. Now, let me show you my patio.

The best way to rob a bank is to own one.

With good reason, Joseph Goebbels described radio as 'the spiritual weapon of the totalitarian state'. Stalin might have added that the telephone was God's gift to eavesdroppers.

Power, let us not forget, is not just about being able to buy whatever you want; that is mere wealth. Power is about being able to get whatever you want at below the market price.

In conclusion, the arms of others either fall from your back, or they weigh you down, or they bind you fast.

My view is that it is desirable to be both loved and feared; but it is difficult to achieve both and, if one of them has to be lacking, it is much safer to be feared than loved.

Men are so simple and so much inclined to obey immediate needs that a deceiver will never lack victims for his deceptions.

Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer.

For it must be noted, that men must either be caressed or else annihilated; they will revenge themselves for small injuries, but cannot do so for great ones; the injury therefore that we do to a man must be such that we need not fear his vengeance.

It is double pleasure to deceive the deceiver.

For, in truth, there is no sure way of holding other than by destroying

But when you disarm them, you at once offend them by showing that you distrust them, either for cowardice or for want of loyalty, and either of these opinions breeds hatred against you.

From this arises the question whether it is better to be loved rather than feared, or feared rather than loved. It might perhaps be answered that we should wish to be both: but since love and fear can hardly exist together, if we must choose between them, it is far safer to be feared than loved.

Occasionally words must serve to veil the facts. But let this happen in such a way that no one become aware of it; or, if it should be noticed, excuses must be at hand to be produced immediately.

Men are so simple, and governed so absolutely by their present needs, that he who wishes to deceive will never fail in finding willing dupes.

Alexander never did what he said, Cesare never said what he did.

Men must either be caressed or else destroyed.

In general you must either pamper people or destroy them; harm them just a little and they'll hit back; harm them seriously and they won't be able to. So if you're going to do people harm, make sure you needn't worry about their reaction.

For that reason, let a prince have the credit of conquering and holding his state, the means will always be considered honest, and he will be praised by everybody because the vulgar are always taken by what a thing seems to be and by what comes of it; and in the world there are only the vulgar, for the few find a place there only when the many have no ground to rest on.

Princes and governments are far more dangerous than other elements within society.

Verträge bricht man um des Nutzens willen.