It is not titles that honor men, but men that honor titles.
NICCOLO MACHIAVELLIA wise ruler ought never to keep faith when by doing so it would be against his interests.
More Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes
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This first kind is excellent, the second good, and the third kind useless.
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The more sand has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it.
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There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things.
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God is not willing to do everything, and thus take away our free will and that share of glory which belongs to us.
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There is no avoiding war; it can only be postponed to the advantage of others.
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He who wishes to be obeyed must know how to command.
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The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him.
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The wish to acquire more is admittedly a very natural and common thing; and when men succeed in this they are always praised rather than condemned.
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One who deceives will always find those who allow themselves to be deceived.
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The main foundations of every state, new states as well as ancient or composite ones, are good laws and good arms you cannot have good laws without good arms, and where there are good arms, good laws inevitably follow.
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Hence it comes about that all armed Prophets have been victorious, and all unarmed Prophets have been destroyed.
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Of mankind we may say in general they are fickle, hypocritical, and greedy of gain.
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Benefits should be conferred gradually; and in that way they will taste better.
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A prince never lacks legitimate reasons to break his promise.
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Men shrink less from offending one who inspires love than one who inspires fear.
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Never was anything great achieved without danger.
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Where the willingness is great, the difficulties cannot be great.
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Nature that framed us of four elements, warring within our breasts for regiment, doth teach us all to have aspiring minds.
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There is no surer sign of decay in a country than to see the rites of religion held in contempt.
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A son can bear with equanimity the loss of his father, but the loss of his inheritance may drive him to despair.
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The distinction between children and adults, while probably useful for some purposes, is at bottom a specious one, I feel. There are only individual egos, crazy for love.
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The new ruler must determine all the injuries that he will need to inflict. He must inflict them once and for all.
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So that the injury done to a man ought to be such that vengeance cannot be feared.
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It is much more secure to be feared than to be loved.
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The one who adapts his policy to the times prospers, and likewise that the one whose policy clashes with the demands of the times does not.
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Hatred is gained as much by good works as by evil.
NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI