Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli Quotes
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Change has no constituency.
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One should never permit a disorder to persist in order to avoid a war, for wars cannot be avoided and can only be deferred to the advantage of others.
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He who neglects what is done for what ought to be done, sooner effects his ruin than his preservation.
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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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It is better to be bold than too circumspect, because fortune is of a sex which likes not a tardy wooer and repulses all who are not ardent.
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He who blinded by ambition, raises himself to a position whence he cannot mount higher, must thereafter fall with the greatest loss.
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The ends justifies the means.
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A blast in the human breast is nothing to boast of.
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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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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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Results are often obtained by impetuosity and daring which could never have been obtained by ordinary methods.
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One who deceives will always find those who allow themselves to be deceived.
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With difficulty he is beaten who can estimate his own forces and those of his enemy.
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One change always leaves the way open for the establishment of others.
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He who wishes to be obeyed must know how to command.
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A prince, therefore, must not mind incurring the charge of cruelty for the purpose of keeping his subjects united and confident; for, with a very few examples, he will be more merciful than those who, from excess of tenderness, allow disorders to arise, from whence spring murders and rapine; for these as a rule injure the whole community, while the executions carried out by the prince injure only one individual. And of all princes, it is impossible for a new prince to escape the name of cruel, new states being always full of dangers.
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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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We cannot attribute to fortune or virtue that which is achieved without either.
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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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In order not to annul our free will, I judge it true that Fortune may be mistress of one half our actions but then even she leaves the other half, or almost, under our control.
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A battle that you win cancels all your mistakes.
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Princes and governments are far more dangerous than other elements within society.
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Men are so simple and yield so readily to the desires of the moment that he who will trick will always find another who will suffer to be tricked.
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You do not know the unfathomable cowardice of humanity...servile in the face of force, pitiless in the face of weakness, implacable before blunders, indulgent before crimes...and patient to the point of martyrdom before all the violences of bold despotism.