best quotations about
Cunning |
and Slyness
| 27 quotes | Visits: 18,082 |
Quotations
 | You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time. — Abraham Lincoln, 1809-1865, American President 35 likes |
 | When a sinister person means to be your enemy, they always start by trying to become your friend. — William Blake, 1757-1827, English poet & painter 20 likes |
 | The more cunning a man is, the less he suspects that he will be caught in a simple thing. The more cunning a man is, the simpler the trap he must be caught in. — Fyodor Dostoyevsky, 1821-1881, Russian writer 15 likes |
 | One should always play fairly when one has the winning cards. — Oscar Wilde, 1854-1900, Irish writer 14 likes |
 | One must therefore be a fox to recognize traps, and a lion to frighten wolves. — Niccolò Machiavelli, 1469-1527, Italian political philosopher 14 likes |
 | Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under it. — William Shakespeare, 1564-1616, English poet & playwright ‐ Macbeth 14 likes |
 | Pretend inferiority and encourage the arrogance of your enemy. — Sun Tzu, c. 5th cent. BC, Chinese general & military strategist 8 likes |
 | Without some dissimulation no business can be carried on at all. — Lord Chesterfield, 1694-1773, English statesman & writer 7 likes |
 | Fighting battles is like courting girls: those who make the most pretensions and are boldest usually win. — Rutherford B. Hayes, 1822-1893, American President [1877-1881] 7 likes |
| The weak in courage is strong in cunning. — William Blake, 1757-1827, English poet & painter 6 likes |
 | Have courage, or cunning, when you deal with an enemy. — Publilius Syrus, 1st cent. AD, Roman author of maxims 5 likes |
 | Nothing doth more hurt in a state than that cunning men pass for wise. — Francis Bacon, 1561-1626, English philosopher 5 likes |
 | If you kept the small rules, you could break the big ones. — George Orwell, 1903-1950, British writer 2 likes |
 | With foxes we must play the fox. — Dr. Thomas Fuller, 1654-1734, English physician and adage collector 2 likes |
 | Cunning is the art of concealing our own defects, and discovering other people's weaknesses. |
 | Honesty is the greatest of all mischief, because it is the only one that the smart ones do not foresee. |
| The silliest woman is a hundred times more cunning than the wittiest man. |
 | All the shrewdness of “man” seeks one thing: to be able to live without responsibility. |
Ancient Greek
 | Man is naturally deceitful ever, in every way! Δολερόν μεν αεί κατά πάντα δη τρόπον πέφυκεν άνθρωπος. — Aristophanes, 445-386 BC, Ancient Greek comic playwright ‐ Birds 28 likes |
 | Only the cunning needs excuses. Προφάσεως δείται μόνον η πονηρία. — Aristotle, 384-322 BC, Ancient Greek philosopher 7 likes |
 | Dishonest gain has short pleasures and long sorrows. Τα πονηρά κέρδη τας μεν ηδονάς έχει μικράς, τας δε λύπας μακράς. — Diphilos of Sifnos, c. 7th cent. BC, Ancient Greek epic poet 6 likes |
| To think, to see, to understand, to show the arse, to trick, to suspect the worst, to question everything. Νοείν, οράν, ξυνιέναι, στρέφειν έδραν, τεχνάζειν, κάχ’ υποτοπείσθαι, περινοείν άπαντα. — Aristophanes, 445-386 BC, Ancient Greek comic playwright ‐ Frogs (what Euripides taught to Athenians, according to Aristophanes) 5 likes |
 | Women are very good in inventing ruses. Δειναί γαρ αι γυναίκες ευρίσκειν τέχνας. — Euripides, 480-406 BC, Ancient Greek tragedian ‐ Iphigenia in Tauris, 5 likes |
 | Playing the fox to another fox. Αλωπεκίζειν προς ετέραν αλώπεκα. 4 likes |
| You will find many machinations since you are a woman. Πολλάς αν εύροις μηχανάς, γυνή γαρ εί. — Euripides, 480-406 BC, Ancient Greek tragedian ‐ Andromache 3 likes |
 | It is better to look simple-minded than to be shrewd. Κρείττον ευήθη δοκείν ή πονηρόν είναι. — Demosthenes, 384-322 BC, Ancient Athenian & statesman orator 2 likes |
Proverbs
 | Better a tricky enemy than a tricky friend. 5 likes |
