That which proves too much, proves nothing!
—Common Proverb
You might as well fall flat on your face as lean over too far backward.
—James Thurber
Whenever he met a great man he groveled before him, and my-lorded him as only a free-born Briton can do.
—William Makepeace Thackeray (1811–63) English Novelist
The persuasion of a friend is a strong thing.
—Homer (751–651 BCE) Ancient Greek Poet
If you wish to win a man over to your ideas, first make him your friend.
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–65) American Head of State
Why harass with eternal purposes a mind to weak to grasp them?
—Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus) (65–8 BCE) Roman Poet
To convert somebody go and take them by the hand and guide them.
—Thomas Aquinas (1225–74) Italian Catholic Priest, Philosopher, Theologian
The real persuaders are our appetites, our fears and above all our vanity. The skillful propagandist stirs and coaches these internal persuaders.
—Eric Hoffer (1902–83) American Philosopher, Author
Roughly speaking, any man with energy and enthusiasm ought to be able to bring at least a dozen others round to his opinion in the course of a year no matter how absurd that opinion might be. We see every day in politics, in business, in social life, large masses of people brought to embrace the most revolutionary ideas, sometimes within a few days. It is all a question of getting hold of them in the right way and working on their weak points.
—Aleister Crowley (1875–1947) English Occultist, Mystic, Magician
That which we do not believe, we cannot adequately say; even though we may repeat the words ever so often.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
He makes people pleased with him by making them first pleased with themselves.
—Earl of Chesterfield (1694–1773) English Statesman, Man of Letters
Nothing is so unbelievable that oratory cannot make it acceptable.
—Cicero (106BCE–43BCE) Roman Philosopher, Orator, Politician, Lawyer
Persuasion is better than force.
—Common Proverb
The secret is to always let the other man have your way.
—Claiborne Pell (1926–2019) American Politician
As there is no worse lie than a truth misunderstood by those who hear it, so reasonable arguments, challenges to magnanimity, and appeals to sympathy or justice, are folly when we are dealing with human crocodiles and boa-constrictors.
—William James (1842–1910) American Philosopher, Psychologist, Physician
He who wants to persuade should put his trust not in the right argument, but in the right word. The power of sound has always been greater than the power of sense.
—Joseph Conrad (1857–1924) Polish-born British Novelist
People have a peculiar pleasure in making converts, that is, in causing others to enjoy what they enjoy, thus finding their own likeness represented and reflected back to them.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German Poet
Would you persuade, speak of Interest, not of Reason.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
Oral delivery aims at persuasion and making the listener believe they are converted. Few persons are capable of being convinced; the majority allow themselves to be persuaded.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German Poet
If you would persuade, you must appeal to interest rather than intellect.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
When a heart is on fire, sparks always fly out of the mouth.
—Common Proverb
Leadership is a word and a concept that has been more argued than almost any other I know. I am not one of the desk-pounding types that likes to stick out his jaw and look like he is bossing the show. I would far rather get behind and, recognizing the frailties and the requirements of human nature, would rather try to persuade a man to go along, because once I have persuaded him, he will stick. If I scare him, he will stay just as long as he is scared, and then he is gone.
—Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969) American Head of State, Military Leader
Those that will not hear must be made to feel.
—German Proverb
The object of oratory alone in not truth, but persuasion.
—Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay (1800–59) English Historian, Essayist, Philanthropist
The art of pleasing consists in being pleased. To be amiable is to be satisfied with one’s self and others.
—William Hazlitt (1778–1830) English Essayist
Who speaks to the instincts speaks to the deepest in mankind, and finds the readiest response.
—Amos Bronson Alcott (1799–1888) American Teacher, Writer, Philosopher
Not brute force but only persuasion and faith are the kings of this world.
—Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish Historian, Essayist
He that winna be ruled by the rudder maun be ruled by the rock.
—Scottish Proverb
Remember that what pulls the strings is the force hidden within; there lies the power to persuade, there the life—there, if one must speak out, the real man.
—Marcus Aurelius (121–180) Emperor of Rome, Stoic Philosopher
For your own good is a persuasive argument that will eventually make a man agree to his own destruction.
—Janet Frame (1924–2004) New Zealand Novelist, Short-Story Writer
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