Best 583 quotes in «advantage quotes» category

It’s much harder to twist the charitable arm of a lottery winner compared to that of a man at his lowest ebb. It sounds like the wrong way round at first, but when you really put your nut to it, people are more frightened of losing the big shit than of having fuck all to begin with and losing a bit of that.

It was the general opinion of ancient nations, that the divinity alone was adequate to the important office of giving laws to men... and modern nations, in the consecrations of kings, and in several superstitious chimeras of divine rights in princes and nobles, are nearly unanimous in preserving remnants of it... Is the jealousy of power, and the envy of superiority, so strong in all men, that no considerations of public or private utility are sufficient to engage their submission to rules for their own happiness? Or is the disposition to imposture so prevalent in men of experience, that their private views of ambition and avarice can be accomplished only by artifice? — … There is nothing in which mankind have been more unanimous; yet nothing can be inferred from it more than this, that the multitude have always been credulous, and the few artful. The United States of America have exhibited, perhaps, the first example of governments erected on the simple principles of nature: and if men are now sufficiently enlightened to disabuse themselves of artifice, imposture, hypocrisy, and superstition, they will consider this event as an era in their history. Although the detail of the formation of the American governments is at present little known or regarded either in Europe or America, it may hereafter become an object of curiosity. It will never be pretended that any persons employed in that service had any interviews with the gods, or were in any degree under the inspiration of heaven, any more than those at work upon ships or houses, or labouring in merchandize or agriculture: it will for ever be acknowledged that these governments were contrived merely by the use of reason and the senses. As Copley painted Chatham, West, Wolf, and Trumbull, Warren and Montgomery; as Dwight, Barlow, Trumbull, and Humphries composed their verse, and Belknap and Ramzay history; as Godfrey invented his quadrant, and Rittenhouse his planetarium; as Boylston practised inoculation, and Franklin electricity; as Paine exposed the mistakes of Raynal, and Jefferson those of Buffon, so unphilosophically borrowed from the Recherches Philosophiques sur les Américains those despicable dreams of de Pauw — neither the people, nor their conventions, committees, or sub-committees, considered legislation in any other light than ordinary arts and sciences, only as of more importance. Called without expectation, and compelled without previous inclination, though undoubtedly at the best period of time both for England and America, to erect suddenly new systems of laws for their future government, they adopted the method of a wise architect, in erecting a new palace for the residence of his sovereign. They determined to consult Vitruvius, Palladio, and all other writers of reputation in the art; to examine the most celebrated buildings, whether they remain entire or in ruins; compare these with the principles of writers; and enquire how far both the theories and models were founded in nature, or created by fancy: and, when this should be done, as far as their circumstances would allow, to adopt the advantages, and reject the inconveniences, of all. Unembarrassed by attachments to noble families, hereditary lines and successions, or any considerations of royal blood, even the pious mystery of holy oil had no more influence than that other of holy water: the people universally were too enlightened to be imposed on by artifice; and their leaders, or more properly followers, were men of too much honour to attempt it. Thirteen governments thus founded on the natural authority of the people alone, without a pretence of miracle or mystery, which are destined to spread over the northern part of that whole quarter of the globe, are a great point gained in favour of the rights of mankind. [Preface to 'A Defence of the Constitutions of the United States of America', 1787]

My first advantage: I have everything. My second advantage: this is just another island. My third advantage: I am bigger than it all.

Never slay your enemies! Take advantage of them all!

My momma always said the best way to get what you want from people is to give them what they think they want. They expected me to be stupid, so I used that to our advantage.

Religion is a means of exploitation employed by the strong against the weak; religion is a cloak of ambition, injustice and vice . . . . Truth breaks free, science is popularized, and religion totters; soon it will fall, in the course of centuries--that is, tomorrow. . . . In good time we shall only have to deal with reason. [From Bizet, by William Dean. Colier Books, 1962]

One of the advantages of confrontation is, you confront people to find out, if your assumptions are right or wrong.

Ours was not going to be a clone of the usual expeditions, oozing with sleekness. It was clear from the start that oddity was our advantage.

Surprise is sometimes the best advantage a warrior can have.

Sometimes we want to believe something so badly that we allow ourselves to be taken advantage of.

Sacrifice of the self is sheer stupidity if sacrifice is not for the self.

She is my girlfriend, I can do whatever I want to her. In fact, I’m going to take her home and fuck her from here to eternity, how about that?

Start taking advantage of the wealth of time

Suspense was an excellent tool for keeping powerful people off balance. It gave one bargaining power.

Taking the wrong advantage of one's decency, modesty, and tolerance shows not only the meanness, whereas that, also demonstrates the proof and the sign of crime.

The average adult hates being treated like a child, unless it suits them.

That's like being a hockey player born on January I.

The condition and characteristic of an uninstructed person is this: he never expects from himself profit (advantage) nor harm, but from externals. The condition and characteristic of a philosopher is this: he expects all advantage and all harm from himself.

The clever people likes foolish because they knows how to take advantage of their foolishness.

The most potent recreational activity is when we sit back and exercise our minds with great and exciting books.

The most important thing is for us to use the advantage we have properly and our success will be matchless

The need for gain, and advantage over others, is one of the chief driving forces behind all human misery.

The only care a soldier must have in war is to let the fleeting advantage of the enemy take the confidence of his inner field.

[There is an] immense advantage to be gained by ample space and appropriate surroundings in aiding the formation of a just idea of the beauty and interest of each specimen... Nothing detracts so much from the enjoyment ... from a visit to a museum as the overcrowding of the specimens exhibited.

The pleasure or the benefit that the object of our deed derives from it is every now and then greater or even more important than the one we derive from the deed.

There are big advantages of living for God, therefore try to spend every minute you have walking with Him, listening to Him and learning of His wisdom

Those who are called Christ’s have a priceless advantage

Understanding that time is limited helps to motivate the use of each moment to the best advantage to achieve things of value.

Though at opposite ends of our country, Maine and Hawaii are, other than climate, much alike. Places where you say who you are, be who you are, keep your word, and don't cheat or lie to take advantage of each other. Where you protect other folks because they are your tribe.

We need not know the how and the why to profit from knowing the that.

Water shrinks wool, urgency shrinks time. Shrinkage may be an advantage or the reverse, according to expectation.

We sometimes benefit way more from being lied to than the person lying to us.

When you look through a window you gasp at the beautiful tree in the backyard or the magical sunrise coming over the horizon, No one looks at a window and is taken away by the complexity of the transparency of millions of atoms joined together to form, from our perception of a crystal clear yet structural opening to the exterior, the same is with life, if you spend your whole life being a medium to enable others then you will be nothing but a sheet of glass, overused, underappreciated, and fragile to opportunity

What is essential is to suddenly make a move totally unexpected by the opponent, pick up on the advantage of fright, and seize the victory right then and there.

What luck has gave you will probably leave you.

Whenever she saw in others an advantage, however trivial, which she herself lacked, she would persuade herself that it was no advantage at all, but a drawback, and would pity so as not to have to envy them.

A child should have every advantage - including those taught by disadvantage.

You want to achieve your dreams early, right? I know of only one back door; that's HARDWORK. Only few people use that entrance so the advantage is that there is no or less traffic there!

You can take a thing when no one's looking. But defending it, even with all the advantage on your side, is no easy task,' Madoc told her with a laugh. She looked up to find him offering her a hand. 'Power is much easier to acquire than it is to hold on to.

You should love yourself to an extent where you cannot let anyone take advantage of you, no matter who they are.

Accidents did not just happen. From time to time they were carefully plotted, calculated, and arranged to one’s advantage-all, of course, under the cloak of happenstance.

Acting serves as the quintessential social lubricant and a device for protecting our interests and gaining advantage in every aspect of life.

Advertising doesn't create a product advantage. It can only convey it.

Advantage comes not from the spectacular or the technical. Advantage comes from a persistent seeking of the mundane edge.

Advantage is a better soldier than rashness.

A grapefruit is just a lemon that saw an opportunity and took advantage of it.

A great advantage I had when I started The Body Shop was that I had never been to business school.

A grave blockhead should always go about with a lively one - they show one another off to the best advantage.

A guy that has more knowledge has the advantage.

Air power is new to all our countries. It brings advantages to some and weakens others; it calls for readjustment everywhere.