Nothing in the world is harder than speaking the truth and nothing easier than flattery. If there’s the hundredth part of a false note in speaking the truth, it leads to a discord, and that leads to trouble. But if all, to the last note, is false in flattery, it is just as agreeable, and is heard not without satisfaction. It may be a coarse satisfaction, but still a satisfaction. And however coarse the flattery, at least half will be sure to seem true. That’s so for all stages of development and classes of society. Crime And Punishment
"The superior man understands what is right; the inferior man understands what will sell." The Analects of Confucius
“Money is the most universal and most efficient system of mutual trust ever devised.” Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
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