“Men rise from one ambition to another: first, they seek to secure themselves against attack, and then they attack others.”

It is double pleasure to deceive the deceiver.

There is no avoiding war; it can only be postponed to the advantage of others.

One who deceives will always find those who allow themselves to be deceived.

Hence it comes about that all armed Prophets have been victorious, and all unarmed Prophets have been destroyed.

A son can bear with equanimity the loss of his father, but the loss of his inheritance may drive him to despair.

Men are so simple and yield so readily to the desires of the moment that he who will trick will always find another who will suffer to be tricked.

One change always leaves the way open for the establishment of others.

Princes and governments are far more dangerous than other elements within society.

So that the injury done to a man ought to be such that vengeance cannot be feared.

It is necessary for him who lays out a state and arranges laws for it to presuppose that all men are evil and that they are always going to act according to the wickedness of their spirits whenever they have free scope.

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.

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.

It is much more secure to be feared than to be loved.

His good example has such an influence that the good men strive to imitate him, and the wicked are ashamed to lead a life so contrary to his example.

Of mankind we may say in general they are fickle, hypocritical, and greedy of gain.

Benefits should be conferred gradually; and in that way they will taste better.

A girl phoned me the other day and said… ‘Come on over, there’s nobody home.’ I went over. Nobody was home.

The public is not to see where power lies, how it shapes policy, and for what ends. Rather, people are to hate and fear one another.

A creep is someone who claims he’s one thing but he’s actually another.

I came from a real tough neighborhood. I put my hand in some cement and felt another hand.

We live in an ascending scale when we live happily, one thing leading to another in an endless series.

The way my brain processes information is quite odd. I mean, I have Attention Deficit Disorder and another learning disability I can’t even spell. I don’t even have a high school diploma. I’m smart, but you can’t prove it on paper.

Ive never actually watched another director work.

One man’s constant is another man’s variable.