Disdain Quote by Pierre Corneille

“Scepticism is the chastity of the intellect, and it is shameful to surrender it too soon or to the first comer: there is nobility…

— George Santayana

Scepticism is effortful and costly. It is better to be sceptical about matters of large consequences, and be imperfect, foolish and human in the…

— Nassim Nicholas Taleb

A rational reaction against the irrational excesses and vagaries of scepticism may, I admit, readily degenerate into the rival folly of credulity. To be…

— William E. Gladstone

Some rule out of a lust for ruling; others, so as not to be ruled:Mto these it is merely the lesser of two evils.

— Friedrich Nietzsche

By moderation one can be generous.

— Laozi

Sycophancy toward those who hold power is a fact in every regime, and especially in a democracy, where, unlike tyranny, there is an accepted…

— Allan Bloom

It is almost always the unhappiness of a victorious disputant to destroy his own authority by claiming too many consequences, or diffusing his proposition…

— Samuel Johnson

What seems to be generosity is often no more than disguised ambition, which overlooks a small interest in order to secure a great one.

— Francois de La Rochefoucauld

In the struggle for supremacy the various political parties outdo each other in trickery, deceit, cunning, and shady machinations, confident that the one who…

— Emma Goldman

On why I don't trust democracy without extremely powerful systems of accountability and recall What seems to be generosity is often only disguised ambition…

— Francois de La Rochefoucauld

“But when the leaders choose to make themselves bidders at an auction of popularity, their talents, in the construction of the state, will be…

— Edmund Burke

Some achieve a reputation for great successes when in fact all they have done is take chances that reasonable people wouldn't take.

— Daniel Kahneman