The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him.
NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI
Never was anything great achieved without danger.
More Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes
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Princes and governments are far more dangerous than other elements within society.
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Never was anything great achieved without danger.
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Men ought either to be indulged or utterly destroyed, for if you merely offend them they take vengeance, but if you injure them greatly they are unable to retaliate.
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There is no surer sign of decay in a country than to see the rites of religion held in contempt.
NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI -
Men are so simple and so much inclined to obey immediate needs that a deceiver will never lack victims for his deceptions.
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But when they lack the ability to do so and yet want to acquire more at all costs, they deserve condemnation for their mistakes.
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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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We cannot attribute to fortune or virtue that which is achieved without either.
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For among other evils caused by being disarmed, it renders you contemptible; which is one of those disgraceful things which a prince must guard against.
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Hatred is gained as much by good works as by evil.
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When you disarm the people, you commence to offend them and show that you distrust them either through cowardice or lack of confidence, and both of these opinions generate hatred.
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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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The promise given was a necessity of the past: the word broken is a necessity of the present.
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It is not titles that honor men, but men that honor titles.
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Tardiness often robs us opportunity, and the dispatch of our forces.
NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI