"Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense." -- Buddha
AA:"From this comes the question: whether it is better to be loved than feared, or the contrary. I answer that a person would like to be the one and the other; but since it is difficult to mix them together, it is much safer to be feared than loved, if one of the two must be lacking. For this can be generally said of men: they are ungrateful, fickle, liars and deceivers, avoiders of danger, greedy for profit; and as long as you serve their welfare, they are entirely yours, offering you their blood, possessions, life and children, as I mentioned earlier, when the occasion to do so is not in sight; but when faced with it, they turn against you. And that prince who lays his foundations on their promises alone, finding himself stripped of other preparations, falls to ruin; because friendships that are acquired with a price and not with excellence and nobility of character are bought, but they are not owned, and at the right time they cannot be spent. And men are less concerned with hurting someone who makes himself loved than one who makes himself feared, because love is held by a link of obligation, which, since men are wretched creatures, is broken every time their own interests are involved; but fear is held by a dread of punishment which will never leave you." - Niccolo Machiavelli, "The Prince", 1513 (translation by Mark Musa)
PA:@AA (and Machiavelli) – That may be said generally of men and be true in those instances, but I hold that there are men and women (albeit quite few) who are grateful, steadfast, honest and trustworthy, courageous, generous; and regardless of their gain, they remain the same, and would offer their blood, possessions, life and children, when the occasion to do so is in sight for the ones they cherish and love; and when faced with it, they turn to the ones they love, stand beside them, watch over them, and protect them as necessary with every ounce of capability, audacity, and strength.
Any man can work to be feared and foster fear in others, that takes little skill. Few have the genuine capacity to love and nurture love in another but it is those who do that are truly successful and hold supremacy above any force of fear.
