“There are only two forces that unite men — fear and interest. All great revolutions originate in fear, for the play of interests does not lead to accomplishment.”

—  Napoleon I of France

Napoleon : In His Own Words (1916)

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Napoleon I of France photo
Napoleon I of France 259
French general, First Consul and later Emperor of the French 1769–1821

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“There are only two forces that unite men — fear and interest.”

Napoleon I of France (1769–1821) French general, First Consul and later Emperor of the French

Napoleon : In His Own Words (1916)
Context: There are only two forces that unite men — fear and interest. All great revolutions originate in fear, for the play of interests does not lead to accomplishment.

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“It may be that the fear contains information. Something can be interesting if you get to the other side of that fear.”

Craig Ferguson (1962) Scottish-born American television host, stand-up comedian, writer, actor, director, author, producer and voice a…

“I think why people will love these monster films is the they are an homage to the originals, which means you’re gonna get complex characters. And the thing that I think is interesting about monsters is that they are always exaggerations of human attributes or human fears. For example, Frankenstein was a result of the kind of industrial and scientific revolution—are we playing God? Should we be playing God? And with the Wolfman there’s that worry of what happens if I lose control? What happens if I hurt the things around me that I love? There’s very human questions and worries and fears and darkness and cravings.”

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“We do not fear being called meticulous, inclining as we do to the view that only the exhaustive can be truly interesting.”

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“Who holds a sword is tempted, who has youth must play,
he who does not fear death on earth does not fear God.”

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“If the United States is attacked, I will defend it.
My problem is the United States' defending the interests of the Union Oil Company or the United Fruit Company. Those are not American interests. They're private-money interests, and that bothers me a great deal.”

Paul Fussell (1924–2012) Recipient of the Purple Heart medal

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Context: I'm a pacifist about certain things. I'm a pacifist in the way I define national interest. I use this example frequently: If the Mexicans decided to cross the Texas border with firearms, I would be down there in a moment with a rifle and a whistle to direct the troops to repel them. If the United States is attacked, I will defend it.
My problem is the United States' defending the interests of the Union Oil Company or the United Fruit Company. Those are not American interests. They're private-money interests, and that bothers me a great deal.

“The fear of separation is all that unites.”

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El temor de separación es todo lo que une.
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“About Douglas as a translator there may be two opinions; about his Aeneid (Prologues and all) as an English book there can be only one. Here a great story is greatly told and set off with original embellishments which are all good – all either delightful or interesting – in their diverse ways.”

Gavin Douglas (1474–1522) Scottish Churchman, Scholar, Poet

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“These people are not interested in creative destruction, they are only interested in destruction. That leads to gas chambers. That leads to, uh, guillotines. That leads to millions dead. That leads to Mao. That leads to totalitarianism. Every. Single. Time.”

Glenn Beck (1964) U.S. talk radio and television host

The Glenn Beck Program
Radio
Premiere Radio Networks
2011-10-04
Beck: Occupy Wall Street Is "Only Interested In Destruction," Which "Leads To Gas Chambers," "Guillotines," "Mao"
Media Matters for America
2011-10-04
http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201110040017
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“Interest can produce learning on a scale compared to fear as a nuclear explosion to a firecracker.”

Stanley Kubrick (1928–1999) American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and editor

Quoted in Stanley Kubrick at Look Magazine (2013) by Phillipe Mather, p. 46
Context: I think the big mistake in schools is trying to teach children anything, and by using fear as the basic motivation. Fear of getting failing grades, fear of not staying with your class, etc. Interest can produce learning on a scale compared to fear as a nuclear explosion to a firecracker.

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