Napoleon
A friend sends his favorite quote:
Those who failed to oppose me, who readily agreed with me, accepted all my views, and yielded easily to my opinions, were those who did me the most injury, and were my worst enemies, because, by surrendering to me so easily, they encouraged me to go too far… I was then too powerful for any man, except myself, to injure me.
I guessed successfully it was Napoleon who said it. But what a great quote? Such a delicate balance we are trying to strike in the “other” – we want someone who mirrors us, completes us, doesn’t disappear beside us, doesn’t rise up to hurt us, doesn’t just say yes when they mean no, but speaks the truth, while understanding they might not know the truth, or that none of us know the truth and yet we acknowledge that truth is what we are both seeking. Again, it’s a great quote.