Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli Quotes
-
Cruelties should be committed all at once.
-
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.
-
It is a foolish prince who entrusts the safety of his lands to hired men.
-
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.
-
And above all you ought to guard against leading an army to fight which is afraid or which is not confident of victory. For the greatest sign of an impending loss is when one does not believe one can win.
-
Men in general judge more by the sense of sight than by the sense of touch, because everyone can see but few can test by feeling. Everyone sees what you seem to be, few know what you really are; and those few do not dare take a stand against the general opinion.
-
A prince is also respected when he is a true friend and a true enemy; that is, when he declares himself on the side of one prince against another without any reservation.
-
There is nothing more important than appearing to be religious.
-
And when neither their property nor honour is touched, the majority of men live content, and he has only to contend with the ambition of a few, whom he can curb with ease in many ways.
-
It is not titles that honor men, but men that honor titles.
-
Delusion gives you more happiness than truth gives to me. For injuries ought to be done all at one time, so that, being tasted less, they offend less; benefits ought to be given little by little, so that the flavour of them may last longer.
-
Men rise from one ambition to another: first, they seek to secure themselves against attack, and then they attack others.
-
The greatest remedy that is used against a plan of the enemy is to do voluntarily what he plans that you do by force.
-
It is better to act and repent than not to act and regret.
-
If the chief party, whether it be the people, or the army, or the nobility, which you think most useful and of most consequence to you for the conservation of your dignity, be corrupt, you must follow their humor and indulge them, and in that case honesty and virtue are pernicious.
-
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.
-
Necessities can be many, but the one that is stronger is that which constrains you to win or to die.
-
A return to first principles in a republic is sometimes caused by the simple virtues of one man. His good example has such an influence that the good men strive to imitate him, and the wicked are ashamed to lead a life so contrary to his example.
-
Every little advantage is of great moment when men have to come to blows.
-
Good order and discipline in any army are to be depended upon more than courage alone.
-
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.
-
The promise given was a necessity of the past: the word broken is a necessity of the present.
-
There is nothing that Nature seems to have inclined us to as much as society.
-
We must bear in mind, then, that there is nothing more difficult and dangerous, or more doubtful of success, than an attempt to introduce a new order of things in any state. For the innovator has for enemies all those who derived advantages from the old order of things, whilst those who expect to be benefited by the new institutions will be but lukewarm defenders.