“Manipulate? Yes, I manipulated. And despite the ensuing events, I would do so again, for it is the function of psychiatry to encourage the living to live.”

“Wherever there is power and mass to manipulate, Man can live.”

“Ale: Are you manipulating me again?
T. C.: Try not to fall for it. I dare you.”

“I cannot emphasize enough that I do not start with a plan or agenda and mechanically manipulate characters and events to carry it out. I set characters in motion, and let them teach me what the book is.”

“When it comes to controlling human beings there is no better instrument than lies. Because, you see, humans live by beliefs. And beliefs can be manipulated. The power to manipulate beliefs is the only thing that counts.”

“Manipulated, one manipulates others.”

“Imagination is the manipulation of images in one's head… the rational manipulation… as well as the literary and artistic manipulation.”

“The true manipulator never has a reputation for manipulating.”

“To be manipulative is to speak and act in a way that guarantees that we get the response we want to get from other people. So you see, manipulation is how most of us try to get love. Manipulation is how most of us try to get safety… because we do not trust the world to be kind to us. Everyone is manipulative, we are simply more or less aware of that aspect within ourselves.”

“I can be manipulated only so many times
Before even 'I love you' starts to sound like a lie.”