Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli Quotes
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It is not titles that honor men, but men that honor titles.
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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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There is nothing more important than appearing to be religious.
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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.
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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.
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Cruelties should be committed all at once.
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It is a foolish prince who entrusts the safety of his lands to hired men.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Necessities can be many, but the one that is stronger is that which constrains you to win or to die.
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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.
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It is better to act and repent than not to act and regret.
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Good order and discipline in any army are to be depended upon more than courage alone.
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To know in war how to recognize an opportunity and seize it is better than anything else.
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The greatest remedy that is used against a plan of the enemy is to do voluntarily what he plans that you do by force.
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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.
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Every little advantage is of great moment when men have to come to blows.
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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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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.
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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.