divide and rule

divide and rule
Government is more easily maintained if factions are set against each other, and not allowed to unite against the ruler. A common maxim (in Latin divide et impera, in German entzwei und gebiete), it should not (pace quot. 1732) be laid at the door of the Italian political philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli (1469–1527), who in fact denounced this principle. Cf. 1588 tr. M. Hurault’s Discourse upon Present State of France 44 It hath been alwaies her [Catherine de Medici’s] cus-tome, to set in France, one against an other, that in the meane while shee might rule in these diuisions.

1605 J. HALL Meditations I. 109 For a Prince..is a sure axiome, Diuide and rule.

1732 SWIFT Poems III. 805 As Machiavel taught ’em, divide and ye govern.

1907 Spectator 20 Apr. 605 The cynical maxim of ‘Divide and rule’ has never clouded our relations with the daughter-States.

1979 D. WILLIAMS Genesis & Exodus ii. Matters concerning the estate were put in the hands of a secretary and a steward who were responsible not to Benson but to the Governors. But ‘divide and rule’ was not in his nature.


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  • divide and rule — phrase to keep control over people who might oppose you, by encouraging disagreement or fighting among them The empire was maintained through a strategy of divide and rule. Thesaurus: to cause problems between peoplesynonym Main entry: divide * * …   Useful english dictionary

  • divide-and-rule — divide and conquer/rule divide and conquer/rule a way of keeping yourself in a position of power by making the people under you disagree with each other so that they are unable to join together and remove you from your position. They used divide… …   New idioms dictionary

  • divide and rule — ► divide and rule (or conquer) maintain control over opponents by encouraging a disunity that makes their opposition ineffective. Main Entry: ↑divide …   English terms dictionary

  • Divide and rule — For the collection of novellas by L. Sprague de Camp, see Divide and Rule (collection). In politics and sociology, divide and rule (derived from Latin: divide et impera) (also known as divide and conquer) is a combination of political, military… …   Wikipedia

  • divide and rule — to keep control over people who might oppose you, by encouraging disagreement or fighting among them The empire was maintained through a strategy of divide and rule …   English dictionary

  • Divide and Rule (collection) — Divide and Rule   first edition of Divide and Rule …   Wikipedia

  • Divide and Rule: The Partition of Africa, 1880-1914 — (Dutch: Verdeel en heers. De deling van Afrika, 1880 1914), is a history book by Dutch historian Henk Wesseling, published by Bert Bakker 1991. As the title suggests, the books deals with the European partition and colonisation of Africa. In the… …   Wikipedia

  • divide and rule (or conquer) — maintain control over subordinates or opponents by encouraging dissent between them so that they do not unite in opposition. → divide …   English new terms dictionary

  • divide and rule — divide and conquer/rule a way of keeping yourself in a position of power by making the people under you disagree with each other so that they are unable to join together and remove you from your position. A small minority have continued to govern …   New idioms dictionary

  • divide and rule — verb To gain and maintain power by breaking up larger concentrations of power into chunks that individually have less power than the one implementing the strategy. Syn: divide and conquer …   Wiktionary

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