“I hold it be a proof of great prudence for men to abstain from threats and insulting words towards anyone, for neither…diminishes the strength of the enemy; but the one makes him more cautious and the other increases his hatred of you and makes him more persevering in his efforts to injure you.”

- Niccolo Machiavelli

“Give them a torch, and someone will start yelling, “FIRE!”"

– Joshua Hall

In context, I came up with this phrase when I was trying to help a business group at work by giving them information about a technology plan to make updates to PCs.  Since I told them, they started pointing at that plan for all of their computer problems, even though they were not related at all.  If I hadn’t given them the information, they might have actually had to figure out what the real problems were.  I can’t really think of another phrase that compares, but surely there are other situations that warrant the saying.

“The beginning of any society is never charming or gentle.”

-Ruth in The Last Man on Earth

“Imagination is more important than knowledge.”

– Albert Einstein

“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”

Proverbs 17:17

“Veritas odium parit”

-Terence

(Tranlated from Latin “Truth begets hatred”)

“The internet should always be a place of truth, not deception.”

- George Washington

“Life is a comedy for those who think and a tragedy for those who feel.”

– Horace Walpole

“Never look back unless you are planning to go that way.”

- Henry David Thoreau

“If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.”

- Booker T Washington