Riane Eisler Quotes

We cannot always do what is absolutely best. Those with whom we act, entertaining different views, have the power and the right of carrying them into practice

Friendship is seldom lasting but between equals, or where the superiority on one side is reduced by some equivalent advantage on the other.

A deck of cards is built like the purest of hierarchies, with every card a master to those below it, a lackey to those above it.

When a match has equal partners then I fear not.

One often has need of one, inferior to himself.

Unfortunately, I think we've probably all had the experience that if we're in a relationship where one of the partners is doing it 'my' way, that relationship is not going to survive.

No winner, no loser

Treat your inferiors as you would be treated by your betters.

A servant sometimes need to be served.

I'm female. I'm human. Sometimes I dominate and sometimes I'm dominated.

Only equals make friends, every other relationship is contrived and off balance.

No one sex can govern alone. I believe that one of the reasons why civilization has failed so lamentably is that is had one-sided government.

You must be either the servant or the master, the hammer or the anvil.

Therefore, if a great kingdom humbles itself before a small kingdom, it shall make that small kingdom its prize. And if a small kingdom humbles itself before a great kingdom, it shall win over that great kingdom. Thus the one humbles itself in order to attain, the other attains because it is humble. If the great kingdom has no further desire than to bring men together and to nourish them, the small kingdom will have no further desire than to enter the service of the other. But in order that both may have their desire, the great one must learn humility.

By explaining the difference between segregation and separation. Segregation is that which is forced upon an inferior by a superior. Separation is done voluntarily by two equals. If I have children and they live in my house, I care for them, they're dependent upon me. And their dependence upon me puts me in a position to regulate their lives, control their lives, tell them where to go, where they can't go. That's a form of segregation.

It's no good having, being with people you can dominate all the time. Or being with someone who can dominate you all the time. Because either one is boring.

Friendships last when each friend thinks he has a slight superiority over the other.

We do not seek the unanimity that comes to those who water down all issues to the lowest common denominator - or to those who conceal their differences behind fixed smiles - or to those who measure unity by standards of popularity and affection, instead of trust and respect. We are allies. This is a partnership, not an empire. We are bound to have differences and disappointments - and we are equally bound to bring them out into the open, to settle them where they can be settled, and to respect each other's views when they cannot be settled.

We are only in charge when we are willing to let others take charge.

On the bright side," Percy said, "both Jason and I outrank you, Octavian. So we can both tell you to shut up.

Ultimately there can be no freedom for self unless it is vouchsafed for others; there can be no security where there is fear, and a democratic society presupposes confidence and candor in the relations of men with one another and eager collaboration for the larger ends of life instead of the pursuit of petty, selfish or vainglorious aims.

I just can't see either a man or a woman in a dependency position, because from this sort of relationship flows a feeling of superiority on one side and inferiority on the other, and that's a form of slow poison. As I see it, men wouldn't want somebody inferior to them unless they felt inadequate themselves. They're intimidated by a mature woman.

Amelie said, “I won’t be your servant in Morganville. Nor should you be mine. Equals.” She offered her hand to him, and he looked down at it, clearly taken aback. But he took it. “Now defend what is ours, my partner.” He grinned … grinned! … and whirled to meet Myrnin in midleap as Myrnin attacked.

We people of the world need to find ways to get to know one another - for then we will recognize that our likenesses are so much greater than our differences, however great our differences may seem. Every cell, every human being, is of equal importance and has work to do in this world

Relationships are all about trust and equality. If one person shares, then the other person should share, too.