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.
NICCOLO MACHIAVELLIThe 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.
More Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes
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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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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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There is no avoiding war; it can only be postponed to the advantage of others.
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No enterprise is more likely to succeed than one concealed from the enemy until it is ripe for execution.
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Men rise from one ambition to another: first, they seek to secure themselves against attack, and then they attack others.
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Since it is difficult to join them together, it is safer to be feared than to be loved when one of the two must be lacking.
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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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Whosoever desires constant success must change his conduct with the times.
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The fact is that a man who wants to act virtuously in every way necessarily comes to grief among so many who are not virtuous.
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Of mankind we may say in general they are fickle, hypocritical, and greedy of gain.
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Before all else, be armed.
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He who wishes to be obeyed must know how to command.
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Benefits should be conferred gradually; and in that way they will taste better.
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Princes and governments are far more dangerous than other elements within society.
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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.
NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI