Vilfredo Pareto

"Power gravitates to those who understand its nature."

"Society is divided between those who produce and those who consume."

"The imagination of man is his greatest gift and his greatest curse."

"Economic laws are like the laws of thermodynamics—inexorable."

"Most human conflicts arise from the desire for status, not survival."

"The wise man adapts himself to circumstances as water molds itself to the pitcher."

"Liberty and equality are mutually exclusive ideals."

"Art is the expression of surplus energy and refined sentiment."

"The masses follow the leader; they do not create."

"Time is the most democratic of all resources—everyone receives exactly 24 hours per day."

"War is merely politics pursued by other means."

"Gratitude is the memory of the heart."

"The strong survive not because they are cruel, but because they understand necessity."

"In every society, a small minority governs the great majority."

"The pursuit of perfection is the pursuit of the impossible."

"Knowledge without application is merely entertainment."

"Beauty fades, but character endures."

"The greatest danger to progress is the satisfaction with the present."

"Nature abhors both vacuum and equality."

"Technology is the servant of those with vision."

"History teaches us that humanity learns nothing from history."

"Fear is the foundation of all tyranny."

"Success belongs to those who understand the rules of the game."

"The truth is often unpleasant, but it is always liberating."

"A man without curiosity is like a garden without seeds."

"The practice of justice is as old as mankind."

"Patience is not passive; it is the active choice to persist."

"Kindness multiplies when shared; cruelty diminishes when resisted."

"Money is the manifestation of power in the material world."

"Health is wealth; all else is knowledge."