Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli Quotes
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It is better to act and repent than not to act and regret.
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How perilous it is to free a people who prefer slavery.
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...people are by nature fickle, and it is easy to persuade them of something, but difficult to keep them persuaded.
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It is much better to tempt fortune where it can favor you than to see your certain ruin by not tempting it.
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Change has no constituency.
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The prince who relies upon their words, without having otherwise provided for his security, is ruined; for friendships that are won by awards, and not by greatness and nobility of soul, although deserved, yet are not real, and cannot be depended upon in time of adversity.
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A wise man ought always to follow the paths beaten by great men, and to imitate those who have been supreme, so that if his ability does not equal theirs, at least it will savor of it. Let him act like the clever archers who, designing to hit the mark which yet appears too far distant, and knowing the limits to which the strength of their bow attains, take aim much higher than the mark, not to reach by their strength or arrow to so great a height, but to be able with the aid of so high an aim to hit the mark they wish to reach.
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Men nearly always follow the tracks made by others and proceed in their affairs by imitation, even though they cannot entirely keep to the tracks of others or emulate the prowess of their models. So a prudent man should always follow in the footsteps of great men and imitate those who have been outstanding.
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The vulgar crowd always is taken by appearances, and the world consists chiefly of the vulgar.
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Then also pretexts for seizing property are never wanting, and one who begins to live by rapine will always find some reason for taking the goods of others, whereas causes for taking life are rarer and more quickly destroyed.
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So long as the great majority of men are not deprived of either property or honor, they are satisfied.
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A prince who is not himself wise cannot be wisely advised. . . . Good advice depends on the shrewdness of the prince who seeks it, and not the shrewdness of the prince on good advice.
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Men sooner forget the death of their father than the loss of their patrimony...
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...it behooves us to adapt oneself to the times if one wants to enjoy continued good fortune.
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One change always leaves the way open for the establishment of others.
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And the prince who has relied solely on their words, without making other preparations, is ruined, for the friendship which is gained by purchase and not through grandeur and nobility of spirit is merited but is not secured, and at times is not to be had.
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If the course of human affairs be considered, it will be seen that many things arise against which heaven does not allow us to guard.
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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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A battle that you win cancels all your mistakes.
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The nature of man is such that people consider themselves put under an obligation as much by the benefits they confer as by those they receive.
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A battle that you win cancels any other bad action of yours. In the same way, by losing one, all the good things worked by you before become vain.
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Results are often obtained by impetuosity and daring which could never have been obtained by ordinary methods.
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That prince is highly esteemed who conveys this impression of himself, and he who is highly esteemed is not easily conspired against; for, provided it is well known that he is an excellent man and revered by his people, he can only be attacked with difficulty.
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No proceeding is better than that which you have concealed from the enemy until the time you have executed it. To know how to recognize an opportunity in war, and take it, benefits you more than anything else. Nature creates few men brave, industry and training makes many. Discipline in war counts more than fury.