Thor: There won't be a kingdom to protect if you're afraid to act! The Jotuns must learn to fear me, just as they once feared you.
Odin: That's pride and vanity talking, not leadership!
Odin: That's pride and vanity talking, not leadership!
— Thor
"Growing up, we were taught that the Fire Nation was the greatest civilization in history. And somehow, the war was our way of sharing our greatness with the rest of the world. What an amazing lie that was. The people of the world are terrified by the Fire Nation. They don't see our greatness. They hate us! And we deserve it."
Azula: The thing I don't understand is why? Why would you do it? You know the consequences.
Mai: I guess you just don't know people as well as you think you do. You miscalculated. I love Zuko more than I fear you.
Azula: No, YOU miscalculated! You should have feared me more!
Mai: I guess you just don't know people as well as you think you do. You miscalculated. I love Zuko more than I fear you.
Azula: No, YOU miscalculated! You should have feared me more!
"The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers."
— Princess Leia Organa, A New Hope
"You thought that just having strength is enough to be king of the jungle. Now you see it isn't. You have no friends, but Kimba has many because he's good and kind; he doen't rule by bullying, but by setting an example."
— Dan'l Baboon to Claw, Kimba the White Lion
"Sun Tzu believed much more in being respected than feared. Fear will eventually turn back around and bite you in the ass. Respect, however, will last you a lifetime."
— Johnny Yang, Deadliest Warrior
A ruler who oppresses the poor is like a driving rain that leaves no crops.
If a king judges the poor with fairness, his throne will be established forever.
If a king judges the poor with fairness, his throne will be established forever.
Bigby: "It is better to be feared than loved." Know who said that?
Colin: Yeah. Some sad asshole, eating alone.
Colin: Yeah. Some sad asshole, eating alone.
The problem with you is you can't tell the difference between friend and foe! Terror is not your friend!
— Captain Jack Bartlett, Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War
Cpt. Speirs: You wanna know if they're true or not, the stories about me? Did you ever notice with stories like that, everyone says they heard it from someone who was there. Then when you ask that person, they say they heard it from someone who was there. It's nothing new, really. I bet if you went back two thousand years, you'd hear a couple centurions standing around yakkin' about how Tertius lopped off the heads of some Carthaginian prisoners.
1st Sgt. Lipton: Well, maybe they kept talking about it because they never heard Tertius deny it.
Cpt. Speirs: Maybe that's because Tertius knew there was some value to the men thinking he was the meanest, toughest son of a bitch in the whole Roman Legion.
1st Sgt. Lipton: Well, maybe they kept talking about it because they never heard Tertius deny it.
Cpt. Speirs: Maybe that's because Tertius knew there was some value to the men thinking he was the meanest, toughest son of a bitch in the whole Roman Legion.
— Band of Brothers, "The Breaking Point"
"I crushed my rivals. I sipped their blood. My guild became swollen with their power... But my empire was built from the husks of those I abused. Their loyalty was easier to buy than dirt. When the angels decided I was too big of a threat to the city, nobody came to my defense... And when I fell — nobody cared. They breathed a mighty sigh o' relief, and went on with business. They took their pieces of silver and walked away."
"You can build a throne with bayonets, but it's difficult to sit on it."
— Boris Yeltsin
"Whenever you show anger or disgust toward civilians, it's a victory for al-Qaeda and other insurgents... every time you wave at an Iraqi civilian, al-Qaeda rolls over in its grave."
— General James Mattis
"I will remember, Your Grace," said Sansa, though she had always heard that love was a surer route to the people's loyalty than fear. If I am ever a queen, I'll make them love me.
"Your brother was not a wise king. Your brother was not a good king. If he had been, he might still be alive."
Mariah Dillard: I'm done talking, Hernan.
Hernan "Shades" Alvarez: Then listen. Fear doesn't always inspire: it alienates. Be better than Mama Mabel. Be better than Cornell. Otherwise you're always going to be looking over your shoulder.
Hernan "Shades" Alvarez: Then listen. Fear doesn't always inspire: it alienates. Be better than Mama Mabel. Be better than Cornell. Otherwise you're always going to be looking over your shoulder.
Elsa: Hans, I need to know why.
Hans: [confused] Why what?
Elsa: [exasperated] Please don't make me say it.
Hans: Oh, you mean why I did what I did last year? I always read stories when I was younger of kingdoms that had been taken over by great powerful forces. I liked to believe I was one of them and one day I would take over a kingdom like the stories I read as a child. I just wasn't good enough. But a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. No kingdom was ever taken by peaceful force, right?
Elsa: [angered at his response, tosses a snowball at Hans] How dare you... [Hans stares at her defiantly, hiding his fear of her response to his sarcastic remark] Is this your form a joke, Hans? Because it's sick, like you! I should've ordered for your execution the second you left Arendelle!
Hans: Then why didn't you?
Elsa: Because I have a conscience! Those kingdoms you read about may have been taken over by powerful forces, but what the books didn't tell you is that the kingdoms surrendered because they were afraid. And you know what happens to kingdoms run by fear, and fear alone, Hans? They fall apart! The people rebel and the kingdom falls into anarchy. And those kingdoms seldom survive after they've fallen. And you know what kind of kingdom Arendelle would be if you had won, Hans? One that was falling to the rebellious people and anarchy. You wouldn't have been a good ruler, Hans - you would've been a dictator that wouldn't even survive his first year on the throne! You would be dead and Arendelle would fall to pieces, only to be remembered in the stupid books that you read! Successful kingdoms aren't run by fear, they're run by loving and fair rulers, both of which you're not! You're cruel, you're greedy, and you don't care about anyone but yourself. I was willing to give you a chance because I'm a firm believer in that everyone deserves a second chance, but you just blew yours. After the war is over, I'm sending you back to the Southern Isles for good. And believe me when I say, Westerguard, that you will die as a disgraced prince in exile. That I will ensure.
Hans: [confused] Why what?
Elsa: [exasperated] Please don't make me say it.
Hans: Oh, you mean why I did what I did last year? I always read stories when I was younger of kingdoms that had been taken over by great powerful forces. I liked to believe I was one of them and one day I would take over a kingdom like the stories I read as a child. I just wasn't good enough. But a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. No kingdom was ever taken by peaceful force, right?
Elsa: [angered at his response, tosses a snowball at Hans] How dare you... [Hans stares at her defiantly, hiding his fear of her response to his sarcastic remark] Is this your form a joke, Hans? Because it's sick, like you! I should've ordered for your execution the second you left Arendelle!
Hans: Then why didn't you?
Elsa: Because I have a conscience! Those kingdoms you read about may have been taken over by powerful forces, but what the books didn't tell you is that the kingdoms surrendered because they were afraid. And you know what happens to kingdoms run by fear, and fear alone, Hans? They fall apart! The people rebel and the kingdom falls into anarchy. And those kingdoms seldom survive after they've fallen. And you know what kind of kingdom Arendelle would be if you had won, Hans? One that was falling to the rebellious people and anarchy. You wouldn't have been a good ruler, Hans - you would've been a dictator that wouldn't even survive his first year on the throne! You would be dead and Arendelle would fall to pieces, only to be remembered in the stupid books that you read! Successful kingdoms aren't run by fear, they're run by loving and fair rulers, both of which you're not! You're cruel, you're greedy, and you don't care about anyone but yourself. I was willing to give you a chance because I'm a firm believer in that everyone deserves a second chance, but you just blew yours. After the war is over, I'm sending you back to the Southern Isles for good. And believe me when I say, Westerguard, that you will die as a disgraced prince in exile. That I will ensure.
— All's Fair in Love and War
, a Frozen (2013) fanfic, chapter 5
, a Frozen (2013) fanfic, chapter 5"May I say, before you go... I think perhaps you are one of the most powerful mages that I've ever had the pleasure to be in the presence of, and for this I would offer a gift, which I think it has been a long time since anyone has pointed out to you that you're a fool. Pain doesn't make people. It's love that makes people. The pain is inconsequential. It's love that saves them. And you would know that, but you have none around you, you said so yourself. You surround yourself with lies and deception, and... I wish for you in the future to find someone who will mourn you when you are gone. Respectfully."
— Caduceus, Critical Role
"Authority should derive from the consent of the governed, not from threat of force!"
— Barbie, Toy Story 3
"[The Reverend Mother] asked me to tell her what it is to rule, and I said that one commands. And she said I had some unlearning to do. She said a ruler must learn to persuade and not to compel. She said he must lay the best coffee hearth to attract the finest men."
— Paul Atreides, Dune
"I fear that my command style may be having a negative affect on unit morale."
— Ultra Magnus, Transformers: Prime
