If you steal, do not steal too much at a time. You may be arrested. Steal cleverly, little by little.
—Mobutu Sese Seko, 1991
Archive
Quotes
Men were born to lie, and women to believe them.
—John Gay, 1728There was no treachery too base for the world to commit.
—Virginia Woolf, 1927If you find excrement somewhere in the village, the chief was the one who put it there.
—Congolese proverbCheating is more honorable than stealing.
—German proverbAn honest man is all right even if he’s an idiot…but a crook must have brains.
—Maxim Gorky, 1902The poor man is ruined as soon as he begins to ape the rich.
—Publilius Syrus, c. 50 BCAnyone who’s never experienced the pleasure of betrayal doesn’t know what pleasure is.
—Jean Genet, 1986There is much difference between imitating a good man, and counterfeiting him.
—Benjamin Franklin, 1738We have to distrust each other. It is our only defense against betrayal.
—Tennessee Williams, 1953