The Nihilistic Troll might pretend to be acting in the service of some cause or leader, but don't be fooled. The cause and their supposedly strong convictions are simply a way to justify and provide cover for their abusive behavior.
Interpretation
This quote warns against those who hide behind causes to justify their harmful actions.
Robert Greene's quote highlights the danger of individuals who disguise their toxic behavior under the auspices of a larger cause or ideology. While they may appear committed to a conviction, their true motives lie in manipulating and abusing others. This commentary serves as a reminder to remain vigilant and discern the true intentions behind people's actions, emphasizing that not all who claim to fight for a cause do so in good faith.
In practice
In a discussion about political activism and morality.
In a society where the roles everyone plays are obvious, the refusal to conform to any standard will excite interest. Be both masculine and feminine, impudent and charming, subtle and outrageous. Let other people worry about being socially acceptable; those types are a dime a dozen, and you are after a power greater than they can imagine.
When you are trying to impress people with words, the more you say, the more common you appear, and the less in control. Even if you are saying something banal, it will seem original if you make it vague, open-ended, and sphinxlike.
The moment people feel they know what to expect from you, your spell on them is broken. More: You have ceded them power.
The future belongs to those who learn more skills and combine them in creative ways.
Only create associations with positive affinities. Make this a rule of life and you will benefit more than from all the therapy in the world.
Remember that the essence of authority is that people willingly follow your lead.
The only feeling that anyone can have about an event he does not experience is the feeling aroused by his mental image of that event ... For it is clear enough that under certain conditions men respond as powerfully to fictions as they do to realities.
A cannon fires only once but words detonate across centuries
Absolute truth is not dependent upon public opinion or popularity. Now what is this truth? It is His gospel. It is the gospel of Jesus Christ.
I will far rather see the race of man extinct than that we should become less than beasts by making the noblest of God's creation, woman, the object of our lust.
Curiously enough, it seems to be only in describing a mode of language which does not mean what it says that one can actually say what one means.
Historians are like deaf people who go on answering questions that no one has asked them.
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