--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is better not to try people, not to…" description: "\"It is better not to try people, not to force them to desperation. Make them prosper; out of superfluidity, they will be generous. Full bellies breed ge..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c6/hilary-mantel-440_belly_it-is-better-not-to-try-people-not-to-fo_720958.jpg" --- # It is better not to try people, not to force them to… ![“It is better not to try people, not to force them to desperation. Make them prosper; out of superfluidity, they will be generous. Full bellies breed gentle manners. The pinch of famine makes monsters.” quote by Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c6/hilary-mantel-440_belly_it-is-better-not-to-try-people-not-to-fo_720958.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c6/hilary-mantel-440_belly_it-is-better-not-to-try-people-not-to-fo_720958.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c6/hilary-mantel-440_belly_it-is-better-not-to-try-people-not-to-fo_720958.jpg) > “It is better not to try people, not to force them to desperation. Make them prosper; out of superfluidity, they will be generous. Full bellies breed gentle manners. The pinch of famine makes monsters.” [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Treat people with compassion; scarcity breeds cruelty, while abundance fosters generosity and kindness. **In simple terms:** Kindness breeds kindness; scarcity breeds cruelty. Key Takeaway Foster abundance and empathy. Themes compassion social dynamics generosity Mood thoughtful empathetic Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - political intrigue - court life - war Key Concepts human behavior economics psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can you create abundance in your community? - What safeguards prevent generosity from being exploited? A Different Perspective Abundance alone does not guarantee virtue. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desperation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desperation/) [Famine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/famine/) [Generous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generous/) [Gentle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gentle/) [Manners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manners/) [Monsters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monsters/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [“Full bellies breed gentle manners. A pinch of famine makes monsters.(Bringing up the bodies,pg 36)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/full-bellies-breed-gentle-manners-a-pinch-of-famine-makes-monsters/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“He could make her forget that it was desperation. He could make her forget everything. And this small room couldn't contain what they had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/he-could-make-her-forget-that-it-was-desperation-he-could-make-her/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [Desperation can make a person do surprising things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/desperation-can-make-a-person-do-surprising-things/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [Some foreigners with full bellies and nothing better to do engage in finger-pointing at us. First, China does not export revolution; second, it does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xi-jinping/some-foreigners-with-full-bellies-and-nothing-better-to-do-engage-in/) [Xi Jinping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xi-jinping/) > [“But Parliament cannot see how it is the state's job to create work. Are not these matters in God's hands, and is not poverty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/but-parliament-cannot-see-how-it-is-the-state-s-job-to-create-work/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [I try to take people one at a time, with all the contradictions and compromises that most of us live with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-trudeau/i-try-to-take-people-one-at-a-time-with-all-the-contradictions-and/) [Garry Trudeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-trudeau/) > [People will try, people will think they succeeded in knocking you down, but if you believe in yourself and know who you are, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/people-will-try-people-will-think-they-succeeded-in-knocking-you-down/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [I basically try to give people top quality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romeo-santos/i-basically-try-to-give-people-top-quality/) [Romeo Santos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romeo-santos/) > [I don't expect to try to get people to like everything I do. I want them to respect what I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-goodell/i-don-t-expect-to-try-to-get-people-to-like-everything-i-do-i-want/) [Roger Goodell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-goodell/) > [It's always disappointing when people decide for one reason or another that they don't like your work anymore, but you can't try to please…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/it-s-always-disappointing-when-people-decide-for-one-reason-or/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Jealous people who have nothing, try to put people down who have something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/jealous-people-who-have-nothing-try-to-put-people-down-who-have/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I simply find that as a songwriter, my goal is to try to move people. And I feel that before I can move other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-tritt/i-simply-find-that-as-a-songwriter-my-goal-is-to-try-to-move-people/) [Travis Tritt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-tritt/) > [I try to move people emotionally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-debney/i-try-to-move-people-emotionally/) [John Debney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-debney/) > [We don't really have a star system in Canada, so to try and get people to watch your show or stand-up is always a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-dee/we-don-t-really-have-a-star-system-in-canada-so-to-try-and-get-people/) [Gerry Dee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-dee/) > [I just try to keep the same people I've had around me from Day One. Keep it a real small circle because if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-love/i-just-try-to-keep-the-same-people-i-ve-had-around-me-from-day-one/) [Kevin Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-love/) ## More by Hilary Mantel > [People will identify with a persecuted minority without asking themselves what they are identifying with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/people-will-identify-with-a-persecuted-minority-without-asking/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“The hunter is among the most innocent of men; living in the moment makes him feel pure. When he returns in the evening, his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/the-hunter-is-among-the-most-innocent-of-men-living-in-the-moment/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“But what would happen … I mean, what would be so awful … if they did meet up?” “Why, it would be like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/but-what-would-happen-i-mean-what-would-be-so-awful-if-they-did-meet/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [When you have committed enough words to paper, you feel you have a spine stiff enough to stand up in the wind. But when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/when-you-have-committed-enough-words-to-paper-you-feel-you-have-a/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [At New Year's he had given Anne a present of silver forks with handles of rock crystal. He hopes she will use them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/at-new-year-s-he-had-given-anne-a-present-of-silver-forks-with/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“The story of my own childhood is a complicated sentence that I am always trying to finish, to finish and put behind me. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/the-story-of-my-own-childhood-is-a-complicated-sentence-that-i-am/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“He wants to say, because Anne is not a carnal being, she is a calculating being, with a cold slick brain at work behind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/he-wants-to-say-because-anne-is-not-a-carnal-being-she-is-a/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“Come to that, don't pay out good money for horoscopes. If things are going to go badly for you, is that what you need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/come-to-that-don-t-pay-out-good-money-for-horoscopes-if-things-are/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“But my sins are my strength, he thinks; the sins I have done, that others have not even found the opportunity of committing. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/but-my-sins-are-my-strength-he-thinks-the-sins-i-have-done-that/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [Feminism hasn't failed, it's just never been tried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/feminism-hasn-t-failed-it-s-just-never-been-tried/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“Mirabeau: “If you have been told to clear us from this hall, you must ask for orders to use force. We shall leave our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/mirabeau-if-you-have-been-told-to-clear-us-from-this-hall-you-must/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“Cardinal Campeggio has implored Katherine to bow to the king's will, accept that her marriage is invalid and retire to a convent. Certainly, she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/cardinal-campeggio-has-implored-katherine-to-bow-to-the-king-s-will/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“Sion calls Anne an eel, he calls her a slippery dipper from the slime, and he remembers what the cardinal had called her: my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/sion-calls-anne-an-eel-he-calls-her-a-slippery-dipper-from-the-slime/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [I spend a great deal of time on research, on finding all the available accounts of a scene or incident, finding out all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/i-spend-a-great-deal-of-time-on-research-on-finding-all-the-available/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“At the front, people die for their mistakes. Why should politicians be more gently treated? They made the war. They deserve a dozen deaths,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/at-the-front-people-die-for-their-mistakes-why-should-politicians-be/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) [Explore all 559 Hilary Mantel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) ## More Belly quotes > [I'm bigger than you! I'm higher on the food chain - get in my belly!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-myers/i-m-bigger-than-you-i-m-higher-on-the-food-chain-get-in-my-belly/) [Mike Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-myers/) > [I was the first to win a major with a belly putter, and I've spent hours practicing that way, so I hope they don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keegan-bradley/i-was-the-first-to-win-a-major-with-a-belly-putter-and-i-ve-spent/) [Keegan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keegan-bradley/) > [That devilish Iron Horse, whose ear-rending neigh is heard throughout the town, has muddied the Boiling Spring with his foot, and he it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/that-devilish-iron-horse-whose-ear-rending-neigh-is-heard-throughout/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I liked the taste of beer, its live, white lather, its brass-bright depths, the sudden world through the wet-brown walls of the glass, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/i-liked-the-taste-of-beer-its-live-white-lather-its-brass-bright/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [“Somewhere squidgy. Your belly, maybe?” “I can’t believe you called my belly ‘squidgy.’ It’s not squidgy, it’s pillowy. And sexy!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-peeler/somewhere-squidgy-your-belly-maybe-i-can-t-believe-you-called-my/) [Nicole Peeler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-peeler/) > [“That man’s so low he has to reach up to rub the belly of a snake.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-carson/that-man-s-so-low-he-has-to-reach-up-to-rub-the-belly-of-a-snake/) [Rae Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-carson/) > [We sat there, not talking, for a few minutes. He ate the Moon Pie; only skinny people can scarf down junk food like that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/we-sat-there-not-talking-for-a-few-minutes-he-ate-the-moon-pie-only/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [I get so nervous, I get belly pains before I go on stage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-ora/i-get-so-nervous-i-get-belly-pains-before-i-go-on-stage/) [Rita Ora](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-ora/) > [I can reason down or deny everything, except this perpetual Belly: feed he must and will, and I cannot make him respectable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/i-can-reason-down-or-deny-everything-except-this-perpetual-belly-feed/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I've learned ballet for seven years and Kathak and belly dancing for some time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nidhhi-agerwal/i-ve-learned-ballet-for-seven-years-and-kathak-and-belly-dancing-for/) [Nidhhi Agerwal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nidhhi-agerwal/) > [It's very important to not repeat yourself. After 'Delhi Belly,' I was offered 40 'Delhi Belly's and you can't do that! So 'Revolver Rani'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vir-das/it-s-very-important-to-not-repeat-yourself-after-delhi-belly-i-was/) [Vir Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vir-das/) > [I asked these Indians: "Do men ever make Chicha?" My question was met with gales of laughter. The women howled. Bent over in hilarity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-d-eames/i-asked-these-indians-do-men-ever-make-chicha-my-question-was-met/) [Alan D. Eames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-d-eames/) > [Wit, like the Belly, if it be not fed, Will starve the Members, and distract the Head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-defoe/wit-like-the-belly-if-it-be-not-fed-will-starve-the-members-and/) [Daniel Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-defoe/) > [After three years down here, I've not learned too much. 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