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You have to be a prince to understand the people, and you have to belong to the people to understand the princes.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli -
He who has annexed them, if he wishes to hold them, has only to bear in mind two considerations: the one, that the family of their former lord is extinguished; the other, that neither their laws nor their taxes are altered, so that in a very short time they will become entirely one body with the old principality.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli
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Men are so stupid and concerned with their present needs, they will always let themselves be deceived.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli -
To know well the nature of the people one must be a prince, and to know well the nature of princes one must be of the people.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli -
Any harm you do to a man should be done in such a way that you need not fear his revenge.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli -
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.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli -
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.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli -
Among other causes of misfortune which your not being armed brings upon you, it makes you despised.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli
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Benefits should be granted little by little, so that they may be better enjoyed.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli -
It makes him hated above all things, as I have said, to be rapacious, and to be a violator of the property and women of his subjects, from both of which he must abstain.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli -
...the wise man should always follow the roads that have been trodden by the great, and imitate those who have most excelled, so that if he cannot reach their perfection, he may at least acquire something of its savour.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli -
One should never allow chaos to develop in order to avoid going to war, because one does not avoid a war but instead puts it off to his disadvantage...
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli -
The greatest remedy that is used against a plan of the enemy is to do voluntarily what he plans that you do by force.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli -
We have not seen great things done in our time except by those who have been considered mean; the rest have failed.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli
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The vulgar crowd always is taken by appearances, and the world consists chiefly of the vulgar.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli -
Men shrink less from offending one who inspires love than one who inspires fear.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli -
Men in general judge more from appearances than from reality. All men have eyes, but few have the gift of penetration.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli -
It is much better to tempt fortune where it can favor you than to see your certain ruin by not tempting it.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli -
To know in war how to recognize an opportunity and seize it is better than anything else.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli -
A battle that you win cancels all your mistakes.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli
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Men are more ready to offend one who desires to be beloved than one who wishes to be feared.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli -
Only those means of security are good, are certain, are lasting, that depend on yourself and your own vigor.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli -
I desire to go to Hell and not to Heaven. In the former I shall enjoy the company of popes, kings and princes, while in the latter are only beggars, monks and apostles...
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli -
No one should therefore fear that he cannot accomplish what others have accomplished, for, men are born, live, and die in quite the same way they always have.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli