I hold it to be a proof of great prudence for men toabstain from threats and insulting words toward an enemy, for neither ...diminishes the strength of the enemy; but the one makes him more cautious,and the other increases his hatred of you and makes him

The function of genius is to furnish cretins with ideas twenty year later.

The exercise of power is determined by thousands ofinteractions between the world of the powerful and that of the powerless, allthe more so because these worlds are never divided by a sharp line: everyonehas a small part of himself in both.

Politeness is to human nature what warmth is to wax.

Gossip is the art of saying nothing, in a manner that leaves nothing unsaid

Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of cancer cell.

Silence, along with modesty, is a great aid to conversation.

Trust resides squarely between faith and doubt.

Even a dog knows the difference between being stumbledover and being kicked.

The singlemost powerful tool for winning a negotiation is the ability to get up andwalk away from the table without a deal.

Conflictcan destroy a team which hasn't spent time learning to deal with it.

Sparrows who emulate peacocks are likely to break a thigh.