So that the injury done to a man ought to be such that vengeance cannot be feared.
NICCOLO MACHIAVELLIMen 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.
More Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes
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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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War is just when it is necessary; arms are permissible when there is no hope except in arms.
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We cannot attribute to fortune or virtue that which is achieved without either.
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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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A wise ruler ought never to keep faith when by doing so it would be against his interests.
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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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No enterprise is more likely to succeed than one concealed from the enemy until it is ripe for execution.
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Whosoever desires constant success must change his conduct with the times.
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This first kind is excellent, the second good, and the third kind useless.
NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI -
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.
NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI -
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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There is no surer sign of decay in a country than to see the rites of religion held in contempt.
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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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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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Severities should be dealt out all at once, so that their suddenness may give less offense.
NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI