“Kings and princes have much more power when they undertake some enterprise on the advice of their subjects. They are then more feared by their enemies.”

— Philippe de Commines , book Mémoires

Les roys et princes en sont trop plus forts, quand ils l'entreprennent du consentement de leurs subjets, et en sont plus craints de leurs ennemis.
Bk. V, ch. 19.
Mémoires

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Les roys et princes en sont trop plus forts, quand ils l'entreprennent du consentement de leurs subjets, et en sont plus craints de leurs ennemis.

Mémoires

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Philippe de Commines 7

writer and diplomat 1447–1511

Corey Robin (1967) American academic

Fear: The History of a Political Idea

“We shall have several hard fights in the H. of Cs. this week and next, in some of which I fear we shall be beat, but whether we are or not I think it certain that in about a fortnight we shall come in; If we carry our questions we shall come in in a more creditable and triumphant way, but at any rate the Prince must be Regent and of consequence the Ministry must be changed…I am rather afraid they will get some cry against the Prince for grasping as they call it at too much power, but I am sure that I can not in conscience advise him to give up any thing that is really necessary to his Government, or indeed to claim any thing else as Regent, but the full power of a King, to which he is certainly entitled.”

Charles James Fox (1749–1806) British Whig statesman

Letter to Mrs. Armistead (15 December 1788), quoted in L. G. Mitchell, Charles James Fox (London: Penguin, 1997), p. 84.
1780s

“It is an imprudence common to kings
To listen to too much advice and to err in their choice.”

Pierre Corneille The Death of Pompey

C'est une imprudence assez commune aux rois
D'écouter trop d'avis et se tromper au choix.
Ptolomée, act IV, scene i.
La Mort de Pompée (The Death of Pompey) (1642)

“In a way, he lost some of himself, some of his knack, and therefore some of the choices he might have had in life. But in losing those, he gained so much more freedom, so much more power, that he was clear winner in the bargain.”

Orson Scott Card (1951) American science fiction novelist

Source: The Tales of Alvin Maker, Prentice Alvin (1989), Chapter 18.

“I am more afraid of King Alcohol than of all the bullets of the enemy.”

Thomas Jackson (1824–1863) Confederate general

As quoted in Personal Reminiscences, Anecdotes, and Letters of Gen. Robert E. Lee (1874) by John William Jones, p. 171

“Maybe the fear is that
we are less than
we think we are,
when the
actuality of it
is that we are much much more.”

Jon Kabat-Zinn (1944) American academic

Source: Arriving at Your Own Door: 108 Lessons in Mindfulness

“When it comes down to it, I don't have much in the way of advice to offer you, but here it is: Read to children. Vote. And never buyfrom a man who's selling fear.”

Mary Doria Russell (1950) American novelist

Source: Dreamers of the Day

“When you have an enemy it is wise to know his ways. The King knew as much about Grey as any man could know about another.”

James Clavell book King Rat

Part 1, Ch. 1
King Rat (1962)

“You have much more power when you are working for the right thing than when you are working against the wrong thing.”

Peace Pilgrim (1908–1981) American non-denominational spiritual teacher

Source: Peace Pilgrim: Her Life and Work in Her Own Words (1982), Ch. 11 : Transforming Our Society
Context: You have much more power when you are working for the right thing than when you are working against the wrong thing. And, of course, if the right thing is established wrong things will fade away of their own accord. Grass-roots peace work is vitally important. All who work for peace belong to a special peace fellowship — whether we work together or apart.

“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.”

Robert Greene book The 50th Law

Source: The 50th Law

“Kings and princes have much more power when they undertake some enterprise on the advice of their subjects. They are then more feared by their enemies.”

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Philippe de Commines 7

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