Thomas Hobbes Quotes

Power is being able to say complete and utter nonsense and have it be believed, powerlessness is where no matter how much cogent evidence and proof one has, to not be believed.

People are more likely to believe a big lie than a small one.

Oh mortal man, is there anything you cannot be made to believe?. Of all the means I know to lead men, the most effectual is a concealed mystery.The hankering of the mind is irresistible.

I'm not trying to twist people's heads around. I'm not trying to say, "Believe in me."

Some people will believe anything if you whisper it to them.

Could I make you believe something that wasn't true?' He studied her through his eyelashes. 'You could make me believe anything at all.

People usually believe anything that they are told early and often.

I don't want them to believe me, I just want them to think.

I think people are more apt to believe photographs, especially if it’s something fantastic. They’re willing to be more gullible. Sometimes they want fantasy. Even if they know it’s fake they can believe anything. People are accustomed to being told what to believe in.

If you want to convince somebody, make up a quote and attribute it to some renowned authority …. People are incredibly gullible.

The size of the lie is a definite factor in causing it to be believed, for the vast masses of a nation are in the depths of their hearts more easily deceived than they are intentionally bad.

If you tell people something often enough, they will believe it.

The more you are in public life, the more you wonder at the credulity of the average human being.

I spent the majority of my adult life in a business where the object is to make people believe that you believe what you say. I was good at that, right?

How easy is it to make people believe a lie, and hard it is to undo that work again!

The Wizard's First Rule: People are stupid; given proper motivation almost anyone will believe almost anything.

What convinces is not necessarily true-it is merely convincing: a note for asses.

There is nothing that you may not get people to believe in if you will only tell it them loud enough and often enough, till the welkin rings with it.

Uninformed people can be easily manipulated.

It takes two people to make a lie work: the person who tells it, and the one who believes it.

You can persuade a man to believe almost anything provided he is clever enough, but it is much more difficult to persuade someone less clever.

What is it men cannot be made to believe!

We are more naive than those of the Middle Ages, and more frightened, for we can be made to believe almost anything.

Our credulity is greatest concerning the things we know least about. And since we know least about ourselves, we are ready to believe all that is said about us. Hence the mysterious power of both flattery and calumny.

A lie took two parties - the weaver of the tale and the sucker who so badly wanted to believe it.