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Since the handling of arms is a beautiful spectacle, it is delightful to young men.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli -
I hold it to be a proof of great prudence for men to abstain from threats and insulting words toward anyone, for neither diminishes the strength of the enemy.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli
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Every little advantage is of great moment when men have to come to blows.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli -
All who contribute to the overthrow of religion, or to the ruin of kingdoms and commonwealths, all who are foes to letters and to the arts which confer honour and benefit on the human race (among whom I reckon the impious, the cruel, the ignorant, the indolent, the base and the worthless), are held in infamy and detestation.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli -
He who blinded by ambition, raises himself to a position whence he cannot mount higher, must thereafter fall with the greatest loss.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli -
And here one must not that hatred is acquired just as much by means of good actions as by bad ones; and so, as I said above, if a prince wishes to maintain the state, he is often obliged not to be good; because whenever that group which you believe you need to support you is corrupted, whether it be the common people, the soldiers, or the nobles, it is to your advantage to follow their inclinations in order to satisfy them; and then good actions are your enemy.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli -
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.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli -
Wars begin when you will, but they do not end when you please.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli
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To keep your actions and your plans secret always has been a very good thing . .. Marcus Crassus said to one who asked him when he was going to move the army: 'Do you believe that you will be the only one not to hear the trumpet?
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli -
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.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli -
Therefore it is unnecessary for a prince to have all the good qualities I have enumerated, but it is very necessary to appear to have them.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli -
Although deceit is detestable in all other things, yet in the conduct of war it is laudable and honorable; and a commander who vanquishes an enemy by stratagem is equally praised with one who gains victory by force.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli -
All courses of action are risky, so prudence is not in avoiding danger (it's impossible), but calculating risk and acting decisively. Make mistakes of ambition and not mistakes of sloth. Develop the strength to do bold things, not the strength to suffer.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli -
It is a foolish prince who entrusts the safety of his lands to hired men.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli
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You must never believe that the enemy does not know how to conduct his own affairs. Indeed, if you want to be deceived less and want to bear less danger, the more the enemy is weak or the less the enemy is cautious, so much more must you esteem him.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli -
By the delusions of seeming good the people are often misled to desire their own ruin; and they are frequently influenced by great hopes and brave promises.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli -
...it behooves us to adapt oneself to the times if one wants to enjoy continued good fortune.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli -
The promise given was a necessity of the past: the word broken is a necessity of the present.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli -
One man should not be afraid of improving his posessions, lest they be taken away from him, or another deterred by high taxes from starting a new business. Rather, the Prince should be ready to reward men who want to do these things and those who endeavour in any way to increase the prosperity of their city or their state.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli -
Ability and perseverance are the weapons of weakness.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli
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There is nothing that Nature seems to have inclined us to as much as society.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli -
One must consider the final result...
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli -
For as laws are necessary that good manners may be preserved, so there is need of good manner that laws may be maintained. [It., Perche, cosi come i buoni costumi, per mantenersi, hanno bisogno delli leggi; cosi le leggi per ossevarsi, hanno bisogno de' buoni costumi.]
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli -
Men rise from one ambition to another: first, they seek to secure themselves against attack, and then they attack others.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli